Skip to main content

Full text of "Genealogical notes of Barnstable families"

See other formats 


''mmmm 


/  CORNELi: 

^/y  UNIVERSITY 

O    >^  LIBRARY 


/-  /'-X 


DATE  DUE 


%  1 


"W 


fe^fe^^Q  F 


-^mmss 


titt}l&,i^'M\it'i 


PRINTED  tNU-S.A. 


Cornell  University  Library 
F  74B14  088 


olin 


3   1924  028  819  212 


Cornell  University 
Library 


The  original  of  tliis  book  is  in 
tlie  Cornell  University  Library. 

There  are  no  known  copyright  restrictions  in 
the  United  States  on  the  use  of  the  text. 


http://www.archive.org/details/cu31924028819212 


GENEALOGICAL     NOTES 


OF 


B^TO'FPIiE      F^MIWE^, 


BEING   A   REPRINT   OP   THE 


AMOS    OTIS    PAPERS, 


ORIGINALLY   PUBLISHED   IN 


THE    BARNSTABLE    PATRIOT. 


REVISED  BY  C.  F.  SWIFT, 

Largely  from  Notes  Made   by   the  Author. 


VOLUME   I. 


BARNSTABLE,  MASS. : 

F.  B.  &  F.  P.  GOSS,  PUBLISHEES  AND  PRINTEES. 

[  The  "Pateiot"  Pkess.  ]     ~^ 
1888. 

,'..  /^" 


-5 " .') 


F 


Entered  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1885,  by 

F.  B.  Goss, 
in  the  oflSce  of  the  Librarian  of   Congress,  at  Washington. 


EDITOR'S  NOTE. 


When  Mr.  Goss,  some  months  ago,  informed  me  of  his 
intention  to  reproduce  the  papers  of  Mr.  Amos  Otis  relating 
to  the  early  families  of  Barnstable,  and  asked  me  to  assist 
in  preparing  them  for  the  press,  I  felt  that  the  undertaking 
was  one  which  merited  the  commendation  and  encourage- 
ment of  all  who  revere  the  memory  of  our  ancestors.  Hav- 
ing in  my  possession  Mr.  Otis's  extensive  revision  of  those 
papers,  together  with  some  notes  of  my  own  bearing  upon 
the  subjects,  I  consented  to  assist  in  this  work.  The  vol- 
umes, thus  presented,  will  be  as  near  as  possible  as  Mr. 
Otis  himself  would  "have  presented  them  in  his  latter  years, 
and  will  constitute  an  enduring  monument  to  his  memory. 
1  may,  I  trust,  be  permitted  to  say,  that  I  have  endeavored 
to  perform  my  duty  in  an  unobtrusive  and  friendly  way, 
erasing  some  passages  of  temporary  importance  reflecting 
upon  contemporaries  ;  correcting  a  few  verbal  slips  of  style 
and  expression  ;  and  adding  an  occasional  explanatory  note, 
sometimes  with,  but  generally  without,  my  initial.  It  will 
thus  be  apparent  that  I  should  not  be  held  responsible  for 
judgments  or  conclusions  in  the  text  which  may  be  a  subject 
of  controversy,  for  which,  of  course,  Mr.  Otis  is  alone  an- 
swerable. Neither  would  I  undertake  to  vouch  for  the  en- 
tire accuracy  of  all  these  papers.  I  can  only  say  that  thus 
far,  by  Mr.  Otis's  own  efforts  mainly,  the  series  is  much 
more  perfect  than  when  the  papers  first  issued  from  the 
press. 

CHARLES  F.  SWIFT. 


INTRODUCTION. 


For  several  years  past,  I  have  spent  much  of  my  leisure 
time  in  examining  records  and  collecting  materials  for  a  his- 
tory of  my  native  town.     Old  age  is  "creeping  on"  and  I, 
find  I  have  done   little  towards  arranging  the  materials  I; 
have  collected.  There  are  more  difficulties  to  be  surmounted 
than  the  casual  observer  dreams  of.     Records  have  been  de-, 
stnwed,   lost,    mutilated, — tradition  is  not  to  be  relied  on; 
and  the  truth  can  only  be  arrived  at  by  diligent  inquiry   and 
comparison    of  various  records  and  memorials  of  the  past. 
The  fact  is,  the  writer  of  a  local  history  finds  himself  envi- 
roned with   difficulties  at  every  step  in  his  progress,  and  is, 
compelled  to  use  such  words  as  perhaps  and  probably,  much 
oftener  than  good  taste  would  seem  to  require.     If  the  readeri 
would  be  satisfied  with  facts  chronologically  arranged,   the, 
task  would  not  be  so  difficult,  diligence  and  industry    would 
soon  accomplish  it.     But  something  more  is  required.     A 
dull  monotonous   array  of  facts  and  figures  would  soon   tire 
and  disgust  all,   excepting  perhaps  a  few  plodding  antiqua- 
rians who  are  never  happier  than  when  poring  over  a  black, 
letter  manuscript.     The  page  to   be  made  readable  must  be 
enlivened  with  descriptions,   narratives  and  personal  anec- 
dotes.    When  writing   history,  I  often  feel  that  I  am  in  the 
condition  of  the  children  of  Israel,  when  they  were  required 
by   their   Egyptian    taskmasters   to    make     bricks    without 
straw.     Three  times  I  have  written  the  first  chapter  of  a  his- 
tory of  the  toAvn  of  Barnstable,  and  three  times  have  thrown 
the  manuscript  into  the  fire.     Progressing  at. such  a  rate  my 
head  will  be  whiter  than  it  now  is,  before  the  last  chapter  is 
written. 

My  friends    are   constantly  urging  me  to   do   something 
and  not  let  the  materials  I  have  collected  be  lost,  and  I  have 


AUTHORS   INTRODUCTION.  11 

decided  to  write  a  series  of  "Family  Sketches,"  like  those 
of  Mr.  Deane  in  his  history  of  Scituate.  These  sketches, 
though  far  from  being  accurate,  are  the  most  interesting  por- 
tion of  his  work.  As  a  general  rule,  I  do  not  intend  that 
each  number  shall  occupy  more  than  a  column  and  a  half. 
To  give  a  full  history  of  some  of  the  families,  namely,  that 
of  Hinckley,  Crocker,  Otis,  Lothrop,  Bacon,  and  a  few 
others  would  require  a  volume.  These  will  necessarily  be 
longer ;  but  a  sketch  of  some  of  the  families  need  occupy 
only  a  few  paragraphs. 

I  shall  write  them  in  an  alphabetical  series,  beginning 
with  the  Allyn  family.  That  there  will  not  be  a  thousand 
mistakes,  and  omissions  in  each,  I  would  not  dare  to  affirm ; 
but  there  is  one  thing  I  will  venture  to  assert,  I  can  point 
out  more  deficiences  in  them  than  any  other  living  man.  I 
desire,  however,  that  persons  having  additional  information, 
or  the  means  of  correcting  any  error  into  which  I  may  have 
fallen  would  communicate  the  same.  I  presume  there  are 
many  documents  preserved  in  family  archives  which  would 
afford  me  valuable  aid,  in  the  work  I  have  undertaken,  and 
it  would  give  me  much  satisfaction,  if  the  owners  would  loan 
me  the  same  or  furnish  copies. 

In  giving  a  genealogical  account  of  the  families,  nearly  all 
the  facts  in  relation  to  the  history  of  the  town  will  have  to 
be  given.  In  the  Allyn  family,  I  give  some  account  of  the 
original  laying  out  of  the  town ;  in  the  Lothrop  family  a 
history  of  the  first  church,  and  in  other  families  where  the 
ancestor  was  the  leading  man  in  any  enterprise,  the  history 
of  that  work  cannot  well  be  omitted.  In  this  manner  nearly 
all  the  principal  events  in  the  history  of  the  town  will  pass 
in  review,  and  such  consideration  be  given  to  them  as  time, 
space  or  opportunity  will  admit. 

I  make  no  promises — I  claim  no  immunity  from  criticism. 
I  may  get  tired,  before  writing  one-half  of  the  proposed  sixty 
columns,  and  it  may  be  that  the  publisher  will  get  sick  of 
his  bargain  even  before  that  time.  To  those  who  take  no 
interest  in  genealogy,  I  have  only  one  remark  to  make.  My 
ancient  friend  and  schoolmaster,  Dea.  Joseph  Hawes,  would 
often  say  he  was  a  skiptic,  that  is,  if  he  met  with  an  article 
in  a  book  or  newspaper  that  did  not  please  him  he  "skipt 
over  it." 

I  have  one  more  suggestion  to  make.     I  would  recommend 


Ill  author's  introduction. 

to  those  who  do  take  an  interest  in  these  articles  to  cut  them 
out  and  paste  them  into  a  scrap  book  leaving  on  each  j^age 
a  wide  margin  for  corrections,  additions  and  notes.  To 
those  who  take  less  interest  in  the  matter,  I  would  suggest 
that  they  cut  out  the  article  in  relation  to  their  own  families 
and  paste  at  least  the  genealogical  portion,  on  the  fly  leaf  of 
their  family  bibles  : — their  grand-children  may  take  an  in- 
terest in  the  subject  if  they  do  not. 

AMOS  OTIS. 
Yarmouth,  Nov.  15,  1861. 


INDEX  TO  FAMILIES. 


ALLYN, 

Page   5 

AliWABLE. 

13 

BACOIiT, 

21 

BACHILER, 

S9 

BASSET, 

45 

•-BEARSE, 

82 

BAKER, 

68 

BARKER, 

64 

BORDEN, 

64 

BODFISH, 

68 

BLOSSOM, 

75 

BOURMAN, 

80 

BUMPAS, 

85 

BETTS, 

,88 

BLUSH, 

89 

BLACKFORD,       . 

99 

BOURNE, 

104 

it. 

140 

BURSLEY, 

137 

BERRY, 

136 

BENJAMIN, 

143 

BUTLER, 

144 

BATES, 

145 

BRYANT, 

146 

CARSELY, 

147 

CHAPMAN, 

151 

CHIPMAN, 

153 

COBB, 

166 

CLAGHORN, 

180 

CHILD, 

183 

COGGIN,                .                     .                     .                     . 

189 

COOPER,               .                     .                     .                     , 

192 

INDEX   TO  FAMILIES. 


COLEMAN, 

Page  195 

cro(;ker, 

200 

CLAP, 

249 

CAMMET, 

.  249 

COTELLE, 

250 

CANNON, 

250 

CUDWOKTH, 

252 

DAVIS, 

276 

DELAP, 

304 

DEXTEE, 

315 

DEAN, 

327 

DIMMOCK, 

328 

DYER, 

3+6 

DUNHAM, 

346 

DICKENSON, 

347 

DUNN, 

348 

DOWNS, 

349 

EASTERBROOKS, 

358 

EWELL, 

359 

EWER, 

360 

FOXWELL, 

365 

FITZRANDOLPHE, 

368 

PULLER, 

371 

FREEMAN, 

385 

FOSTER, 

388 

GOODSPEED, 

391 

GILPIN, 

408 

GILBERT, 

406 

GORHAM, 

407 

GREEN, 

445 

GARRETT, 

449 

HALL, 

450 

HATHAWAY,       . 

457 

HATCH, 

461 

HALLETT, 

473 

HAMBLEN, 

522 

ALLYN. 


THOMAS   ALLYN. 

This  name  is  variously  written  on  the  records,  Allyn, 
AUyne,  Allin  and  Allen  ;  but  the  descendants  of  Mr.  Thom- 
as Allyn,  one  of  the  first  settlers  in  Barnstable,  usually  write 
their  name  Allyn.  He  owned  a  large  estate,  and  was  prob- 
ably the  most  wealthy  among  the  first  settlers.  The  date 
when  he  first  came  over  is  not  ascertained.  It  appears,  by 
an  aflSdavit  made  by  him  March,  1654,  on  the  Plymouth 
Colony  records,  that  his  ancestors  resided  not  far  from  Taun-r 
ton,  in  England.  His  business  is  not  stated ;  but  he  was 
probably  engaged  in  trade.  It  appears  by  the  document 
above  referred  to,  that  he  was  in  England  in  1649,  on  busi- 
ness of  his  own,  and  as  the  agent  of  "divers  friends."  This 
visit  he  speaks  of  as  "att  my  last  being  in  Ould  England," 
implying  that  he  had  "returned  home"  more  than  once  after 
he  first  came  over. 

The  records  of  the  laying  out  of  the  lands  in  Barnstable 
in  1639  are  lost.*  The  entries  made  of  the  lands  of  Mr. 
Allyn  furnish  the  best  information  we  have  on  the  subject. 
The  house  lots  contained  from  six  to  twelve  acres,  and  were 
all  laid  out  on  the  north  side  of  the  highway  west  of  Rendez- 
vous Lane.  In  1654,  Mr.  Allen  owned  six  of  the  original 
house  lots,  namely : 

No.   1.     Originally    Isaac  Robinson's  contained  eight 

♦Note. — In  respect  to  these  records,  I  have  the  following  informa- 
tion :  My  Great-Grandfather,  Solomon  Oliis,  was  many  years  Register 
of  Ppeds.  My  father  informed  me  that  he  had  heard  many  inquire  for 
them,  and  that  his  grandfather's  uniform  answer  was,  that  they  were 
in  early  times  carried  to  Plymouth,  and  were  there  '  lost  hy  Are.  This 
is  tradition ;  but  considering  the  directness  of  the  testimony,  I  think  it 
reliable. 


6        GENEALOGICAL    NOTES    OF    BAKNSTABLE    FAMILIES. 

acres  of  upland,  and  the  salt  marsh,  at  the  north  end.  It 
was  bounded  westerly  by  Calves  Pasture  Lane,  northerly 
partly  by  the  creek  and  partly  by  the  land  of  Tristram  Hull, 
easterly  by  the  lot  formerly  Samuel  Jackson's,  and  souther- 
ly by  the  highway.  In  1654  the  highway  was  a  few  rods 
farther  south,  at  this  place,  than  at  the  present  time.  Mr. 
Charles  Hinckley  is  the  present  owner  of  this  lot. 

No.  2.  Was  laid  out  to  Samuel  Jackson,  who  returned 
to  Scituate  in  1647.  He  sold  it  to  Samuel  Mayo,  who  sold 
the  same  to  Mr.  Allyn.  This  lot  contained  eight  acres  of 
upland,  and  the  marsh  at  the  north  end.  It  was  bounded 
westerly  by  Lot  No.  1,  north  by  the  harbor,  easterly  by  the 
highway  (now  discontinued)  leading  to  Allyn's  Creek,  and 
southerly  by  the  highway.  This  lot  is  now  owned  by  de- 
scendants of  Mr.  Allyn. 

No.  3.  Was  laid  out  to  Mr.  Allyn,  and  contained  ten 
acres  of  upland,  with  the  marsh  adjoining,  and  was  bounded 
west  by  Allyn's  Lane  or  highway  to  the  creek,  north  by  the 
harbor,  east  by  the  house  lot  of  Rev.  Joseph  Hull,  and 
southerly  by  the  present  highway.  This  land  is  owned  by 
Capt.  Matthias  Hinckley. 

No.  4.  Contained  twelve  acres  of  upland  and  the  marsh 
adjoining,  bounded  on  the  west  by  Lot  No.  3,  north  by  the 
harbor,  easterly  by  the  lot  of  the  Eev.  John  Mayo,  and 
southerly  by  the  present  highway.  On  this  lot  Rev.  Mr. 
Hull  built  his  house  in  1639,  afterwards  occupied  by  his  son- 
in-law,  Mr.  John  Bursley,  and  sold  to  Mr.  Allyn  about  the 
year  1650.  The  first  Meeting  House  stood  in  the  ancient 
grave  yard  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  road.  This  land  is 
now  owned  by  Capt.  Matthias  Hinckley.  Capt.  Thomas 
Harris  perhaps  owns  a  small  portion  of  it. 

No.  5,  containing  twelve  acres  of  upland,  more  or  less, 
with  the  meadow  adjoining,  was  the  Rev.  John  Mayo's  be- 
fore his  removal  in  1646  to  Eastham.  It  was  bounded  west- 
erly by  Lot  No.  4,  north  by  the  harbor,  easterly  by  the  lot 
that  was  John  Casly's,  and  southerly  by  the  highway.  The 
lot  is  now  owned  by  Capt.  Thomas  Harris. 

No.  6,  contained  ten  acres  of  upland  and  the  meadow 
adjoining.  It  was  laid  out  to  John  Casly  and  by  him  sold 
to  Samuel  Mayo  and  by  the  latter  to  Mr.  Allyn.  It  was 
bounded  westerly  by  Lot  5,  north  by  the  harbor,  east  by   a 


GENEALOGICAL    NOTES    OF    BARNSTABLE    FAMILIES.        7 

Jot  owned  in  1654  by  Tristram  Hull,*  and  south  by  the 
highway. 

Beside  his  house  lots,  he  owned  meadow  at  Sandy 
Neck,  and  in  1647  owned  the  land  on  the  north  of  the  Hal- 
lett  Farm,  adjoining  the  bounds  of  Yarmouth.  Besides  the 
above  he  had  rights  in  the  common  lands,  and  other  large 
tracts.     He  sold  at  one  time  100  acres  to  Koger  Groodspeed. 

Mr.  Allyn's  house  lots,  with  the  lots  named  in  the  note, 
constituted  the  central  portion  of  the  village  as  originally 
laid  out.  On  the  west  probably  in  the  order  named,  were 
the  lots  of  Gov.  Hinckley,  Samuel  Hinckley,  Gen.  Cud- 
worth,  James  Hamblen,  Lawrence  Litchfield,  Henry  Goggin, 
(on  the  west  of  Goggin's  Pond)  Henry  Bourne,  William 
Crocker,  Austin  Bearse,  John  Cooper,  Thomas  Hatch,  Rob- 
ert Sheley,  William  Betts,  Henry  Coxwell,  Dollar  Davis, 
John  Crocker,.  Thomas  Shaw,  Abraham  Blish,  and  Anthony 
Annable.  The  farm  of  the  latter  is  now  owned  by  Nathan 
Jenkins, 

On  the  east  of  Rendezvous  Lane,  Mr.  John  Lothrop, 
John  Hall,  Henry  Rowley,  Isaac  Wells,  John  Smith,  Geo. 
Lewis,  Edward  Fittsrandle,  (Lot  on  west  side  of  the  road 
to  Hyannis)  Bernard  Lumbard,  Roger  Goodspeed,  (Henry 
Cobb,  Thomas  Huckins,  John  Scudder,  Samuel  Mayo,) 
Nathaniel  Bacon,  Richard  Foxwell,  Thomas  Dimmock. 
Isaac  Davis'  house  stands  near  where  the  Old  Dimmock 
house  stood.  The  Agricultural  Hall  stands  on  Foxwell's 
land. 

Mr.  Allyn  was  not  much  in  public  life.  March  1, 
1641-2  he  WHS  propounded  to  be  a  freeman  of  the  Plymouth 
Colony,  admitted  1652 ;  in  1644,    1651    and    1658    he   was 

*N0TE. — In  1647  the  highway  run  on  a  straight  Ihie  from  Mr.  John 
Burseley's  corner  to  the  head  of  Rendezvous  Lane.  In  1686  when  the 
present  road  was  laid  out,  the  ancient  road  was  followed  as  far  as 
Jail  Hill  when  it  was  turned  to  the  northeast  through  the  lands  of 
Capt.  Joseph  Lothrop.  I  am  inclined  to  the  opinion  that  the  ancient 
road  was  on  the  south  of  the  swamp  and  joined  the  present  road  where 
the  first  court  house  stood,  on  the  east  of  the  Sturgis  tavern.  Joseph 
Hull,  son  of  Tristram,  sold  Lot  No  7  in  1678  to  John  Lothrop.  Thomas 
Annable,  Doctor  Abner  Hersey,  Isaiah  Hinckley,  and  Elijah  Crocker 
have  since  owned  it.  No.  8,  6  acres,  was  Wm.  Casly's  lot,  afterwards 
Hon.  Barnabas  Lothrop's;  No.  9,  10  acres,  was  Robert  Lynnell's.  No. 
10,  12  acres,  Thomas  Lombard's  lot,  sold  to  Thomas  Lewis;  No.  11.  12 
acres,  Thomas  Lothrop's  Land,  bounded  easterly  by  Rendezvous  Lane, 
'^liese  Lots  embraced  the  central  position  of  the  village  as  it  was  orig- 
inally laid  out. 


8  GENEALOGICAL    NOTES    OF    BARNSTABLE    FAMILIES. 

Surveyor  of  highways  ;  in  1648,  1658  and  1670  constable, 
and  in  1653  a  juryman,  offices  of  not  much  profit  or  honor. 
The  Court  in  passing  up  and  down  the  County  often  stopped 
at  his  house,  a  fact  which  indicates  that  he  set  a  gopd  table, 
and  was  well  supplied  with  provender  for  man  and  beast. 

He  married  for  his   first   wife    Winnifred .     His 

second  wife  was  Wid.  .     He  named  in  his  will,  dated 

Feb.  28,  1675,  proved  5th  of  March,  1679-80,  his  daughters- 
in-law  Sarah,  wife  of  William  Clark, 

Martha,  wife  of  Benjamin 

Kebecca,  wife  of  Samuel  Sprague. 
He  names  his  sons  Samuel  and  John,  his  daughter  Mehita- 
ble  Annable,  and  Samuel's  oldest  son,  Thomas.  After  dis- 
posing of  a  part  of  his  estate  by  legacies  he  ordered  the  rest 
to  be  equally  divided  between  his  three  children.  He  died 
in  1679,  and  was  buried  in  the  ancient  burying  ground, 

"Where  the  forefathers  of  the  hamlet  sleep." 
Children  of  Thomas  Allyn  born  in  Barnstable: 

I.     Samuel,  born  10  Feb.,  1643-4,  bap'd  18  Feb.,    1643-4. 
n.     John,  born  1646,  bap'd  27  Sep.,  1646. 
HI.     Mehitable,  born    1648,    bap'd  28   Aug.,    1648.     She 
married  Samuel  Annable  June  1,  1667,  and  had  a  fam- 
ily of  four  children.     She  married  second  May  6, 1683, 
Cornelius  Briggs  of  Scituate.     She  inherited   one-third 
of  her  father's  estate,  Mr.  Allyn  in  his   will   giving  her 
an  equal  portion  with  her  brothers,  an  unusual    circum- 
stance in  those  days. 
Mr.  Samuel  Allyn,  son  of  Thomas,  was  a  freeman  in    1670, 
constable  1671,  called  Lieutenant  in  1678.     He  was   many 
years  Town  Clerk,  and  held  other   responsible    offices.     He 
resided  at  West  Barnstable.     In  1686,  his  house  is  described 
as  on  the  south  side  of  the  highway  about  half  of  a  mile  east 
of  Hinckley's  Bridge.     He  married  May  10,  1664,  Hannah, 
daughter  of  Eev.  Thomas  Walley.     She  died,  Tuesday,  Oct. 
23,  1711,  at  10  o'clock,  A.  M.     Her  age  is  not  stated.     She 
was  born  in  England  and  came  over  with  her   father   in   the 
ship  Society,  Capt.  John  Pierce,  and  arrived  here  May   24, 
1662.     Mr.  Samuel   Allyn   died   Friday,    25th   November, 
1726,  aged  82  years.     Mr.    Samuel  Allyn's   will   is   dated 
Nov.  12,  1726,  and  proved  on  the  30th  of  Nov.   following. 
He  gives  to  his  daughter-in-law  Sarah,  then  wife  of  Deacon 


GENEALOGICAL    NOTES    OF    BARNSTABLE    FAMILIES.  9 

Samuel  Bacon,  40  shillings  ;  to  his  grandsons  Thomas  Allyn 
and  John  Jacobs,  and  his  daughter  Hannah  Lincoln,  20  shil- 
lings each ;  to  his  grandson  Samuel  Allyn,  son  of  his  son 
Joseph  "only  one  shilling" ;  and  to  his  great-grandson 
Thomas,  son  to  his  grandson  James,  40  shillings.  All  his 
other  estate,  both  real  and  personal,  he  devised  to  his  son 
Joseph  Allyn,  to  grandson  James  of  Barnstable,  to  daugh- 
.te£  Hannah  Jacob,  and  his  grandson  Samuel  Allyn  of  Barn- 
stable, to  be  divided  equally.  His  son  Joseph  and  grand- 
son James  executors.  The  inventory  of  the  estate  is  dated 
January  4,  1726-7,  but  the  oath  of  Allyn  was  refused  by  the 
Judge  of  Probate  "because  1  thought  he  could  not  do  it  with 
a  safe  conscience."     Joseph  swore  to  it  Feb.  18,  1726-7. 

Children  of  Mr.  Samuel  Allyn  born  in  Barnstable: 
I.  Thomas,  born  22  March,  1654-5,  married  Elizabeth, 
daughter  of  Hon.  John  Otis,  9  Oct.,  1688,  and  had 
three  children,  James,  Thomas  and  Hanna,h.  He  died 
25th  Nov.,  1696,  aged  31.  His  widow  married  20 
January,  1699,  David  Loring  of  Hingham.  She  died 
in  Barnstable,  June  17,  1748,  aged  79. 
tl.  Samuel,  born  19  January,  1666,  married  Sarah,  daugh- 
ter of  Edward  Taylor,  20  Dec,  1705,  and  had  Samuel, 
26  Nov.,  1706.  The  father  died  Dec,  1706,  in  the  39th 
year  of  his  age.  His  widow  married  26  January,  1708, 
Dea.  Samuel  Bacon.  She  died  Sept.  24,  1753,  aged  73. 
ni.  Joseph,  born  7  April,  1671.  He  removed  from  Barn- 
stable about  the  year  1700.  He  was  one  of  the  execu- 
tors of  the  will  of  his  father  1726.  He  then  had  a  son 
Samuel,  showing  he  was  married  and  had  a  family. 

IV.  Hannah,  born  4  Maroh,  1672-3,  married  7  Dec,  1693, 
Peter  Jacob  of  Hingham,  and  had  twelve  children. 

V.  Elizabeth,  born  26  Nov.,  1681,   died   23   Dec,    1698, 
aged  17. 

John  Allyn,  son  of  Thomas,  married  1673  Mary,  daughter 
of  John  Howland. 

Children  born  in  Barnstable : 

I.     Jdhn,  bom  3  April,  1674. 
n.     Mary,  born  5  Aiig.,  1675  ;  died  7  July,  1677. 
til.     Martha,  born  6  Aug.,  1677  ;  died  Oct.,  1680. 
IV.     Isaac,  born  8  Nov.,  1679. 

The  facUily  of  Jdhti  Allyii  was  Aot  of  Bartistable  Janu- 


10  GENEALOGICAL    NOTES    OF    BAKNSTABLE    FAMILIES. 

ary,  1683-4.  He  had  probably  removed.  There  were  at 
that  time  so  many  John  Allyns  in  New  England,  that  in  the 
absence  of  records  it  is  difficult  to  fix  the  place  of  his  after 
residence. 

In  January,  1693-4,  there  were  in  Barnstable  and  en- 
titled to  a  share  in  the  common  lands,  being  either  24  years 
of  age,  or  married,  Lieut.  Samuel  AUyn,  eldest  son  of 
Thomas,  Sen'r,  and  Samuel  and  Thomas,  sons  of  Lieut. 
Samuel.  January,  1697,  Thomas  was  dead,  and  Joseph, 
youngest  son  of  Lieut.  Samuel,  was  added  to  the  list,  he 
being  then  25  years  of  age,  but  in  1703  his  name  is  omitted. 

The  present  Allyn  families  in  Barnstable,  are  nearly  all 
descendants  of  James,  son  of  Thomas,  and  grandson  of 
Lieut.  Samuel.  His  house  was  very  ancient,  the  east  part 
two  stories,  and  the  west  one  story.  It  stood  on  Lot  No.  1, 
where  Charles  Hinckley's  house  now  is,  and  it  was  taken 
down  about  50  years  ago.  He  married  July  24,  1712, 
Susannah  Lewis,  daughter  of  Ebenezer.  He  was  21  and 
she  18  at  the  time  of  their  marriage. 

No  family  in  Barnstable  could  claim  to  be  more  respect- 
ably connected  than  this.  Their  eldest  daughter,  Elizabeth, 
born  in  1713,  married  1732,  Col.  John  Gorham,  and  re- 
moved to  Portland.  He  was  a  man  of  note  in  his  day. 
Susannah,  born  1715,  married  1735,  Capt.  Jonathan  Davis, 
Jr.,  a  shipmaster.  Anna,  born  1718,  married  in  1736, 
John  Davis,  Jr.  Thomas,  born  1719,  married  Elizabeth 
Sturgis  1752';  Hannah,  born  1721,  married  1743,  Doctor 
Abner  Hersey,  an  eminent  physician,  but  most  eccentric 
man;  Rebecca,  born  1723,  married  1742Rev.  Josiah Crock- 
er of  Taunton  ;  Abigail,  born  1725,  (an  Abia  Allin  married 
Seth  Cushman  of  Dartmouth  ;)  Mary,  born    1727,    married 

1751,  Nymphas  Marston,  Esq. ;  James,  born  1729,  married 

1752,  Lydia  Marston  ;  Sarah,  borri  1730,  married  1755, 
Mr.  Justin  Hubbard,  of  Hingham  ;  Martha,  born  1733,  died 
1740;  Olive,  born  1735,  married  1754,  Capt.  Samuel  Stur- 
gis, Jr. 

At  a  family  meeting'  almost  every  profession  in  life 
would  have  been  honorably  represente.d-  Mr.  AHyn  ,  him- 
self had  a  suit  of  armor,  and  two  of  bis  sons-in-law  had  done 
good  service  for  thpir  country  on  the  fiejld  of  battle,  so  that 
the  military  element  would  have,  been  strongly  represented  ; 
the  legal  profession  by  two  ;  divinity  by  one,  ftnd  meiiicine 


GENEALOGICAL    NOTES    OF    BAKNSTABLE    FAMILIES.  11 

by  that  strange,  compound,  Doctor  Hersey,  perhaps  in  his 
usual  winter  dress — cowhide  boots,  baize  shirt,  red  cap  and 
leather  great  coat. 

Mr.  James  Allyn  died  Oct.  8,  1741,  (his  grave  stones 
say  1742,)  aged  50  years,  and  his  widow  Susannah  Oct.  4, 
1753,  aged  59.  In  his  will,  proved  Nov.  11,  1741,  he  pro- 
vides liberally  for  the  support  of  his  wife  and  younger  chil- 
dren. To  his  daughters,  who  had  not  already  had  their  por- 
tion, £30  each,  and  to  his  son  James  £150.  To  his  son 
Tborai'.s  he  gave  his  cane,  marked  with  his  grandfather's 
name,  his  armor,  valued  at  £16.10.,  and  all  his  warlike 
weapons  and  appurtenances,  his  hooks,  excepting  his  Great 
Bible,  his  "dwelling  house  from  top  to  bottom,"  tools  and 
stock  belonging  to  a  saddler's  trade,  &c.,  &c.  His  estate 
was  appraised  at  £3.091.  19.  4,  a  large  estate  in  those 
times. 

Thomas  was  a  saddler  by  trade.  His  house  stood  where 
Mr.  Charles  Hinckley's  now  does.  His  children  were  Polly, 
Hannah,  Susan  and  Samuel. 

James*  was  a  cabinet  maker.  He  resided  in  the  old 
Allyn  house  now  standing.  His  children  were  James,  Ben- 
jamin, two  named  Marston,  who  died  young,  Thomas,  Nym- 
phas,  who  died  young,  and  John,  who  was  educated  at 
Harvard  College,  graduated  in  1775,  and  was  afterwards 
pastor  of  the  church  at  Duxbury. 

Mr.  Thomas  Allyn  has  very  few  descendants  in  the 
male  line  now  living  in  Barnstable.  Whether  or  not  his  son 
John  and  grandson  Joseph,  who  removed  early  from  Barn- 
stable, were  the  ancestors  of  niore  proliiic  races  I  cannot  say. 

The  first  inhabitants  selected  the  beautiful  sweep  of  high 
land  between  Rendezvous  Creek  and  Cogo^en's  Pond  as  the 
seat  of  their  town,  the  principal  men  built  houses  there,  but 


*Mrs.  Chloe  Blish,  now  aged  95,  relates  the  following  witch  story 
in  relation  to  Jame?  Allyn.  She  lived  at  the  time  in  Gov.  Hinckley's 
hou?e,  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  road: 

Lydia  Ellis,  a  daughter  of  Lizzy  Towerhill,  (a  reputed  witch,  of 
whom  I  have  given  an  account,)  resided  in  the  family  of  Mr.  Allyn  as 
a  servant.  Lizzy  took  offence  at  the  treatment  of  her  daughter,  and 
threatened  vengeance.  A  night  or  two  after,  a  strange  cat  appeared 
in  Mr.  AUyn's  house,  mewing  and  caterwauling — unseen  hands  upset 
or  turned  bottom  upwards  every  thing  in  the  house.  Six  new  chairs, 
brought  in  the  day  before,  were  broke  to  pieces  and  destroyed.  The 
inmates  were  kept  awake  all  night,  and  for  a  long  time  after,  strange 
noises  were  heard,  at  times,  in  the  liouse,  and  the  peace  of  the  family 
greatly  disturbed. 


12  GENKALOGICAL    NOTES    OF    BARNSTABLE    FAMILIES. 

in  less  than  fifteen  years  half  the  lots  belonged  to  Mr.  All^'n 
and  the  houses  had  been  abandoned  or  removed.  In  select- 
ing that  location  for  the  centre  of  the  town,  one  fact  was 
overlooked  :  no  water  conld  be  procured  without  sinking 
wells  to  a  great  depth.  They  soon  were  compelled  to  re- 
move to  situations  near  to  ponds  or  springs  of  water. 


JOHN    ALLEN. 

Mr.  Baylies  in  his  history  states  that  John  Allen  re- 
moved from  Scituate  to  Barnstable  in  1649,  arid  Mr.  Deane 
in  his  history  of  Scituate,  says  he  probably  removed  from 
Barnstable  to  Scituate  in  1645.  He  appears  to  have  been  of 
Plymouth  in  1633  and  of  Scituate  in  1646,  where  he  died  in 
1662.     His  widow  was  named  Ann  and  he  had  a  son  John. 

John  Allen  of  Barnstable  was  another  man.  Perhaps 
he  was  the  John  who  was  taxed  at  Springfield  in  1639,  re- 
moved soon  after  perhaps  to  Rehoboth  1645,  and  to  New- 
port 1650  and  thence  to  Swansey  in  1669.  He  married  Oct. 
10,  1650,  Elizabeth  Bacon  of  Barnstable,  probable  a  sister 
of  Samuel.  Allen  and  his  wife  were  both  ana-baptists,  yet 
no  objection  was  made  to  their  marriage,  Gov.  Hinckley 
oflSciating  at  the  nuptials.  To  this  fact  I  shall  have  occasion 
hereafter  to  refer.  From  Barnstable  they  went  to  Newport, 
E.  I. ,  and  there  had  Elizabeth,  born  July,  1651.;  Mary, 
Feb.  4,  1653 ;  John,  Nov.,  1654;Mercey,  Dec,  1656; 
Priscilla,  Dec,  1659,  and  Samuel,  April,  1661. 


ANN ABLE 


ANTHONY  ANNABLE, 

One  ot  the  forefathers,  came  over  in  the  Ann  in  1623,  bring- 
ing with  him  his  wife,  Jane,  and  his  daughter  Sarah.  He 
remained  in  Plymouth  till  1634  when  he  removed  to  Scitu- 
ate,  and  was  one  of  the  founders  of  that  town  and  of  the 
church  there.  In  1640  he  removed  to  Barnstable.  With 
the  exception  of  Gov.  Thomas  Hinckley,  no  Barnstable  man 
was  oftener  employed  in  the  transaction  of  public  business. 
He  joined  Mr.  Lothrop's  church  at  its  organization,  January 
y,  1634-5,  was  always  an  exemplary  member,  yet  he  was 
never  dignitied  with  the  title  of  "Mr."  and  was  all  his  life 
called  "Goodman  Annable."  That  a  man  who  was  "most 
useful  in  church  and  state,"  thirteen  years  a  deputj'^  to  the 
Colony  Court,  on  a  committee  to  revise  the  laws,  frequently 
employed  in  most  important  and  difficult  negotiations,  apd 
one  of  the  58  {)urchasers,  was  not  thought  worthy  of  that 
dignity  may  seem  strange  to  modern  readers.  In  the  Ply- 
mouth Colony,  the  governor,  deputy  governor,  and  magis- 
trates and  assistants  ;  the  ministers  of  the  gospel  and  elders 
of  the  church,  school-masters,  commissioned  officers  in  the 
militia,  men  of  great  wealth,  or  men  connected  with  the  fam- 
ilies of  the  gentry  of  nobility,  alone  were  entitled  to  be 
called  mister  and  their  wives  mistress.  This  rule  was  rigidly 
enforced  in  earl}^  colonial  times,  and  in  all  lists  of  names,  it 
was  almost  the  invariable  custom,  to  commence  with  those 
who  stood  highest  in  rank  and  follow  that  order  to  the  end. 
Goodman  Annable  had  four  acres  of  land  alloted  to  him 
in  the  division  of  lands  in  1623,  to  those  who  "came  over 
in  the  shipe  called  the  Anne."  At  the  division  of  the  cattle 
in  1627,  there  had  been  no  increase  in  the  number  of  his 
family,  it  then  consisted  of  four,  namely,  himself,    his  wife 


14  GENEALOGICAL    NOTES    OF    BARNSTABLE    FAMILIES. 

Jane  and  daughters  Sarah  and  Hannah.  His  name  appears 
in  the  earliest  list  of  freemen,  made  in  1633,  and  in  that 
year  he  was  taxed  £0.  18.,  and  in  the  following  year  9  shil- 
lings. Comparing  these  figures  with  the  other  taxes,  it  ap- 
pears that  he  was  then  a  man  to  whom  the  petition  in  Agur's 
prayer,  "give  me  neither  poverty  nor  riches,"  might  well 
apply.  Oct.  1,  1634,  he  was  elected  a  member  to  treat 
with  the  partners  for  the  colony  trade,  and  the  next  January 
he  was  chosen  constable  of  Scituate.  Oct.  4,  1636,  Good- 
man Annable  and  James  Cudworth  were  a  committee  from 
the  town  of  Scituate  to  assist  in  the  revision  of  the  laws  of 
the  colony.  He  was  a  juryman  that  year  and  in  1638. 
March  6,  1637-8  he  was  again  chosen  constable  of  Scituate. 
In  January  of  that  year  the  Eev.  John  Lothrop,  Mr.  Timo- 
thy Hatherly,  Goodman  Annable  and  others  of  Scituate, 
rej)re8ented  to  the  Court  that  they  had  small  portions  of 
land,  and  petitioned  to  have  the  lands  set  off  to  them,  be- 
tween the  North  and  South  rivers,  which  was  granted. 

In  1638  and  9  many  meetings  were  held  in  Scituate  to 
adopt  measures  respecting  a  removal  to  another  plantation. 
Five  days  were  set  apart  for  humiliation,  fasting  and  prayer 
for  success  in  their  removal.  The  first  fast  was  kept  Feb. 
22,  1637-8,  and  the  last  June  26,  1639.  Several  letters 
signed  by  Mr.  Lothrop,  Goodman  Annable  and  others  in 
behalf  of  themselves  and  other  members  of  the  church,  ad- 
dressed to  the  governor,  stating  the  grievances  under  which 
they  were  suffering,  and  asking  to  be  better  accommodated 
in  some  other  part  of  the  colony.  At  first  they  proposed  to 
remove  to  Sippican,  now  Rochester,  and  at  the  January 
Court  the  lands  at  that  place  were  granted  to  them.  But 
many  were  opposed  to  going  to  Sippicau,  preferring  a  resi- 
dence at  Mattakeese,  now  a  part  of  Barnstable.  But  the 
lands  at  the  latter  place  had  previously  been  granted  to  Mr. 
Richard  Collicut  and  others  of  Dorchester ;  but  in  June, 
1639,  this  grant  was  revoked  and  an  opening  was  made  for 
Ml'.  Lothrop  and  his  church.  In  the  previous  May  Rev. 
Joseph  Hull  of  Weymouth,  and  Mr.  Thomas  Dimmock  and 
others  romoved  to  Mattakeese,  and  commenced  the  settle- 
ment of  the  town.  After  the  revocation  of  the  grant  to  Mr. 
Collicut,  the  Court,  June  4,  1639,*  O.  S..  corresponding  to 

*The  centennial  celebration  of  the  200th  anniversary  of  the  town 
was  held  September  3,  1839,  why  and  wherefore  I  cannot  explain. 


GENEALOGICAL    NOTES    OF    BAllNSTABLE    FAMILIES.  15 

June  14,  new  style,  granted  the  lands  at  Mattakeese  to 
Messrs.  Hull  and  Dimmock  as  a  committee  for  themselves 
and  their  associates,  and  incorporated  the  town,  naming  it 
Barnstable.  June  13,  1639,  O.  S.,  a  fast  was  kept  by  Mr. 
Lothrop's  chui-ch  to  implore  "God's  directing  and  providing 
for  us  in  the  place  of  removal,"  and  on  the  2t)th  of  the  same 
month  another  fast  was  kept  "For  the  presence  of  God  in 
mercey  to  goe  with  us  to  Mattakeese." 

i\Ir.  Lothrop  and  a  majority  of  his  church  removed 
from  Scituate  to  Barnstable  Oct.  "ll,  1639,  O.  S.  (Oct.  21, 
N.  S.).  On  their  arrival,  the  tirst  settlers  had  built  them- 
selves houses,  any  many  of  Mr.  Lothrop's  church  found 
dwellings  provided  for  them  on  their  arrival.  Goodman 
Annable  did  not  remove  with  the  first  company,  but  some 
few  months  after. 

He  was  a  member  of  the  first  General  Court  held  in 
1639,  also  in  1640,  '41,  '42,  '43,  '44,  '45,  '47,  '50,  '51,  '53, 
'56  and  '57.  He  was  not  a  member  when  the  obnoxious 
laws  against  Quakers  were  enacted. 

In  1643  he  was  appointed  by  the  Court  a  member  of  a 
committee  to  provide  places  of  defence  against  any  hostile 
attack  of  the  Indians,  and  in  1645  "to  propose  laws  to  re- 
dress present  abuses,  and  to  prevent  future." 

In  1646  he  was  on  a  committee  of  one  from  each  town 
in  the  colony,  "to  consider  a  wav  of  defraying  the  charges 
of  the  magistrate's  tables  by  way  of  excise  on  wine  and 
other  things."  In  1661  he  is  named  as  one  of  the  grantees 
of  the  lands  in  Suck&nesset,  now  Falmouth,  and  in  1662 
land  was  granted  to  his  daughter  Hannah,  one  of  the  first 
born  children  in  the  colony,  and  in  1669  a  tract  of  land  was 
granted  to  him  on  Taunton  River,  near  Titicut. 

I  do  not  find  that  Goodman  Annable  had  a  houselot  as- 
signed to  him  in  the  village.  He  settled  at  West  Barnstable 
on  the  farm  now  owned  l)y  Nathan  Jenkins,  Esq.  It  is  thus 
described  on  the  record  : 

1.  Forty  acres  of  upland,  be  it  more  or  less,  butting 
northerly  by  the  marsh,  southerly  by  yc  commons,  bounded 
easterly  by  Goodman  Blush,  westerly  b}'  Goodman  Bhish. 

2.  Twenty-two  acres  of  marsh  butting  southerly,  partly 
upon  his  own  and  partly  upon  Gdd.  Blush's  upland,  bound- 
ed (^'istorlv  partlv  upon  ye  creek    botweon    Goodman    Wrlls 


16         GENEALOGICAL    .NOTJitt    OF    BAK^STABLE    FAMILIES. 

and  him,  and  partly  by  ye  oomuions,  westerly  liy  (jdd. 
Blush,  northerly  by  ye  commons. 

3.  Fifteen  acres  more  or  less  of  swamp  bounded  east- 
erly by  Gdd.  Blush,  westerly  by  Gdd.  Bowmans,  southerly 
by  ye  commons,  northerly  partly  by  Gdd.  Blush  and  partly 
by  Gdd.  Bowmans. 

This  is  one  of  the  best  farms  in  Barnstable.  His  land 
was  principally  on  the  north  side  of  the  present  County 
road.  Fifty-four  acres  were  afterwards  added  to  this  farm, 
extending  to  Annable's  Pond  on  the  south. 

Goodman  Annable  died  in  1674,  and  his  widow  Ann 
administered  on  his  estate.  His  age  is  not  recorded,  he 
was  probably  75  years  old.  His  widow  Ann  was  living  in 
1677  when  she  was  lined  £1  for  selling  beer  without  a  li- 
cense. In  1686  she  is  spoken  of  as  recently  deceased.  She 
is  called  "the  agad  widow  Annible"  in  1678,  and  was  prob- 
ably nearly  80  years  of  age  at  the  time  of  her  death. 

Gdd.  Annable  resided  in  the  Colony  iifty  and  one 
years.  He  was  a  puritan  of  the  school  of  blessed  John  Rob- 
inson, neither  bigoted  nor  intolerant.  Sympathizing  iu 
feeling  with  Cud  worth,  Hatheriy  and  other  leading  men  of 
the  tolerant  party — an  opponent  of  the  harsh  measures,  and 
bloody  laws  enacted  and  enforced  against  Quakers  and  ana- 
baptists in  the  Massachusetts  Colony,  and  adopted  in  the 
Plymouth  Colony  in  1653,  but  never  enforced  in  Barnsta- 
ble. His  moral  character  was  unimpeachable.  He  was 
never  a  party  to  a  law  suit,  and  only  in  one  instance  en- 
gaged in  any  controversy  with  his  neighbors.  In  1664,  he 
Avas  presented  for  removing  a  land-mark.  The  Court  after 
a  full  investigation  of  the  charge,  decided  that  he  was  blame- 
able  for  removing  the  boundary  ;  but  being  convinced  that 
he  did  not  willfully  intend  to  do  wrong,  the  complaint  was 
dismissed. 

Intellectually  Goodman  Annable  had  many  superiors  in 
the  Colony.  He  was  a  man  of  sound  judgment,  discreet, 
cautious, — never  acting  hastily  or  unadvisedly,  a  good 
neighbor,  a  useful  man,  and  one  who  exhibited  in  his  daily 
walk,  his  Christian  character. 

His  descendants  for  several  generations  inherited  from 
him,  to  some  extent,  the  same  excellent  traits  of  character. 
None  of  them  were  brilliant  men  ;  but  I  have  never  heard 
of  an  Annable  who  was  convicted  of  crime  or  who  was  a  bad 


GENEALOGICAL    NOTES    OF   BARNSTABLE    FAMILIES.  17 

neighbor.  There  were  not  manj'  of  this  name  who  came  over. 
There  was  a  John  at  Ipswich  in  1642,  a  tailor,  and  a  Mat- 
thew at  Newbury  aged  18,  1672.  Goodman  Annable  uni- 
formly wrote  his  name  as  it  is  now  written ;  but  it  occurs 
also  on  the  records  written  Annible,  Anible,  Anniball  and 
Anable. 

The  following  account  of  his  family  differs  from  that 
given  either  by  Mr.  Ueane  or  by  Mr.  Savage.  The  latter 
in  attempting  to  correct  the  errors  of  the  former,  made 
greater  mistakes  himself,  1  have  carefully  examined  all  ac- 
cessible records,  and  have  not  varied  from  these  gentlemen 
only  on  evidence  which  appears  entirely  conclusive.  I  am 
aware  that  my  account  is  defective,  all  I  claim  is  that  it  is 
fuller  and  has  a  less  number  of  mistakes  in  it  than  those 
which  have  been  published : 

Anthony  Annable  came  over  in  the  Ann  in  1623,  bring- 
ing with  him  his  wife  Jane  and  his  daughter  Sarah.  Mr. 
Savage  says  daughters  Sarah  and  Hannah.  On  the  list  of 
the  first  born  in  Plymouth  is  Hannah,  daughter  of  Anthony 
Annable.  A  grant  of  land  was  afterwards  made  to  her  in 
virtue  of  her  right  as  one  of  the  first  born.  No  stronger 
evidence  of  a  fact  can  be  adduced.  The  members  of  the 
Court  knew  that  Hannah  Annable  was  born  in  Plymouth, 
otherwise  they  would  not  have  made  the  grant. 

Mr.  Savage  says  Susannah  was  jjrobably  born  in  Barn- 
stable. If  so  she  was  very  young  when  she  married  on  the 
13th  of  May,  1652,  William  Hatch,  Jr.,  of  Scituate. 

His  first  wife,  Jane,  died  in  Barnstable,  and  was  buried 
Dec.  13,  1643,  on  the  Lower  side  of  the  Calves  Pasture. 
The  exact  locality  of  her  grave  is  not  known  ;  but  is  proba- 
bly at  a  place  called  Hemp  Bottom.  He  married,  March  3, 
1644-5,  his  second  wife,  Ann  Clark.  There  are  three  sever- 
al entries  of  this  marriage,  two  on  the  Plymouth  and  one  on 
the  Barnstable  town  records.  The  entr}'  in  the  'Court 
Orders"  (vol.  2,  page  80,  of  the  printed  volumes)  is  the 
only  one  that  can  be  cnlled  an  original  record,  the  other  two 
are  copies,  and  the  transcriber  evidently  made  a  mistake  of 
one  year  in  the  date.  The  chirography  of  the  entry  on  the 
"Court  Orders"  is  very  obscure.  The  late  Judge  Mitchell, 
who  was  familiar  with  the  records,  having  spent  his  leisure 
time  for  several  years  in  their  examination,  copied  the  name 
"Ann  Clark."     Mr.  Pulsifer  and  Doctor  Shurtleff,  gentle- 


18         GENEALOGICAL   NOTES    OF   BARNSTABLE   FAMILIES. 

men  equally  distinguished  for  their  skill  in  deciphering  an- 
cient manuscripts,  read  the  name  Ann  Elocke.  I  prefer  the 
reading  of  Judge  Mitchell. 

Mr.  Savage  adds :  "The  second  wife  was  buried  1 6th  of 
May,  1651,  and  he  married  soon  third  wife,  Ann  Barker,  by 
whom  he  had  Desire,  11th  Oct  ,  1653,  and  the  wife  was 
buried  about  16th  March,  1658."  Mr.  Savage  or  his  aman- 
uensis has  strangely  mixed  up  in  the  passage  quoted,  facts 
in  relation  to  the  families  of  Anthony  Annable  and  Abra- 
ham Blish.  They  were  both  good  neighbors,  very  kind  and 
accommodating  to  each  other,  but  I  doubt  whether  they  ever 
swapped  wives,*  as  the  passage  quoted  indicates. 

Family  of  Anthony  Annable    by  his   wife   Jane — born  in 

England: 
I.     Sarah,    born    about    1622,  married  Nov.   22,   1638,  by 
Mr.  Winslow,  at  Green's  Harbor,  to  Henry  Ewell  of 
Scituate.     She  died  in  1687,  leaving  a  family. 
Born  in  Plymouth  : 
n.     Hannah,  born  about  1625,  being  his  first  born  child, 
after  his  arrival.        She    married,    March    10,   1644-5, 
Thomas  Bowman  of  Barnstable, 
ni.     Susannah,  born  about  1630,  married  13th  May,  1652, 
Wm.  Hatch,  Jr.,  of  Scituate. 

Born  in  /Scituate: 

IV.  A  daughter  stillborn,  buried  8th  April,  1635. 

V.  Deborah,  baptized  May  7,  1637. 

By  his  second  wife,  Ann   Clark,  born  in  Barnstable: 

VI.  Samuel,  born  January  22,  bap'd  Feb.  8,  1645-6,  mar- 
ried, June  1,  1667,  Mehitable  AUyn,  died  1678,  aged 
32. 

VII.  Esek,  (or  Ezekiel)  bap'd  29th  April,  1649,  probably 
died  young. 

VIII.  Desire,  bap'd  16th  Oct.,  1653,  married  January  18, 
1676-7,  John  Barker,  Esq.,  died  at  Scituate  July  24, 
1706. 

Samuel  Annable   married     June    1,    1667,    Mehitable, 

*NOTE.— Mr.  Savage  will  put  this  matter  right  in  his  fourth  vol- 
ume, soon  to  be  published.  That  he  has  made  so  few  mistakes  is  won- 
derful. The  late  Capt.  Isaac  Bacon,  Sen.,  said  he  wished  it  was  the 
fashion  to  swap  wives,  as  it  was  old  horses— he  would  cheat  somebody 
most  d nably. 


GENEALOGICAL    NOTES    OF    BARNSTABLE    FAMILIES.  19 

dauffliter  of  Mr.  Thomas  Allyn  of  Barnstable.  He  resided 
at  West  Barnstable,  and  inherited  a  large  portion  of  the  es- 
tate of  his  father,  whom  he  survived  only  four  years,  dying 
in  the  year  1678,  aged  32.  His  widow  married,  May  6, 
1683,  Cornelius  Briggs  of  Scituate. 

Family  0/  iSamuel  Annable: 

I.  Samuel,  born  14th  July,  1669,  married  Patience  Dog- 
get,  April  11,  1695,  and  had  Desire,  3d  Jan'y,  1695; 
Anna,  27th  Sept.,  1697,  married,  Aug.  19th,  1720, 
Nathaniel  Bacon;  Jane,  24th  Dec,  1699,  married  Oct. 
8th,  1719,  Dea.  Kobert  Davis;  Samuel,  14th  January, 
1702 ;  Patience,  15th  May,  1705,  married  Joseph  Ba- 
con, 1722 ;  Thomas,  21st  June,  1708,  married  Ann 
Gorham  Aug.  7th,  1740.  The  father  died  June  21st, 
1744,  and  his  widow  Patience,  Oct.  11th,  1760,  aged 
90  years. 

n.     Hannah,  born  March,  1672,  liied  August  following. 

III.  John,  born  19th  July,  1673,  married  June  16th,  1692, 
Experience,  daughter  of  Edward  Taylor,  and  had  Sam- 
uel, born  3d  Sept.,  1693 ;  Mehitable,  28th  Sept.,  1695, 
married,  July  23d,  1713,  Andrew  Hallet,  died  Oct. 
23d,  1767 ;  John,  born  April,  1697,  died  May  follow- 
ing ;  John,  born  3d  May,  "1698,  removed  to  Rochester ; 
Mary,  born  Dec,  1701,  married  David  Hallet  Aug. 
19th,  1720;  Cornelius,  born  3d  November,  1704,  and 
Abigail,  born  30th  April,  1710,  married  Oct.  22d, 
1730,  Wally  Crocker. 

IV.  Anna,  born  4th  March,  1675-6,  married  Oct.  14th, 
1696,  Dea.  John  Barker.  She  died  March  21st,  1732- 
3,  "aged  near  57  years,"  and  is  buried  at  West  Barn- 
stable. 

The  estate  of  Samuel  Annable,  deceased,  included  the 
farm  of  his  father,  then  in  possession  of  his  mother,  and  the 
fifty-four  acres  on  the  south  side  of  the  highway  which  he 
held  in  his  own  right  by  a  grant  from  the  town,  and  the  es- 
tate which  his  wife  held  in  her  right,  by  gift  from  her  father, 
was  settled,  by  order  of  the  Court,  Oct.  30,  1678,  as  fol- 
lows : 

"The  seate  of  land  which  was  formerly  Mr.  Thomas 
Allyn's"  at  Barnstable,  was  settled  upon  Samuel,  the  eldest 
son,  he  paying  to  his  sister  Anna  £25,  one-half  in  current 


20  GENEALOGICAL    NOTES    OF    BAKNSTABLE    FAMILIES. 

silver  money  of  New  England,  and  the  other  half  in  "cur- 
rent pay  att  prise  current"  within  two  years  after  he  become 
of  age. 

To  John  Annable,  the  youngest  son,  the  farm  that  the 
''aged  widdow  Annible  hath  her  life  in,  and  now  liveth  on ; 
which  was  pte  of  the  lands  which  formerly  Anthony  Anni- 
ble lived  on,"  he  to  pay  his  sister  £25,  one-half  in  current 
silver  money  of  New  England,  and  one-half  in  current  pay, 
within  two  years  after  he  becomes  of  age. 

To  the  widow  Mehitable  Annable  was  assigned  all  the 
moveables  and  all  the  stock,  "to  be  att  her  own  dispose  for- 
and  towards  the  bringing  up  of  the  childien,  hopeing  that 
shee  will  have  a  care  to  bringe  them  up  in  a  way  of  educa- 
tion as  the  estate  will  beare,  and  to  have  all  the  proffitts  of 
all  the  lands  untill  the  said  Samuel  Annible  and  John  Anni- 
ble comes  to  be  of  age,  and  then  the  third  in  the  proffitts  of 
the  land  during  her  natural  life." 

In  1703  there  were  only  two  of  the  family,  Samuel  and 
John,  in  Barnstable  entitled  to  a  share  in  the  common  lands. 
The  West  Barnstable  family  disappeared  many  years  ago, 
some  removed  to  Rochester  and  some  to  other  places,  and 
the  ancient  farm  is  now  owned  by  strangers.  The  Barnsta- 
ble family  eighty  years  ago  •^as  numerous,  wealthy  and  in- 
fluential,^now  there  is  not  a  solitary  voter  of  the  name  in 
the  town.  The  family  has  dwindled  down,  and  almost  be- 
come extinct.  There  are  a  few  of  the  descendants  of  An- 
thonj'  Annable  in  Boston,  and  in  other  places.  The  last 
parcel  of  the  Annable  farm  (formerly  Mr.  Thomas  Allyn) 
was  sold  out  of  the  family  the  present  year  (1861),  smd 
there  is  no  memorial  of  the  family,  now  remaining  in  Barn- 
stable, save  the  monuments  in  the  giave  yards  which  mark 
the  places  of  their  sepulchres. 


BACON, 


NATHANIEL    BACON. 

To  write  a  genealogical  memoir  of  Nathaniel  Bacon  and 
his  descendants  would  require  a  volume.  I  shall  not  attempt 
it.  Among  the  many  of  the  name  who  came  over  early, 
were  Nathaniel  and  Samuel,  supposed  to  be  brothers,  and 
Elizabeth,  probably  a  sister,  all  of  whom  settled  in  Barnsta- 
ble.* Michael  of  Dedham,  who  has  numerous  descendants 
probably  came  from  Ireland.  William  of  Salem,  who  mar- 
ried Rebecca,  daughter  of  Thomas  Potter,  mayor  of  Coven- 
try, had  resided  in  Dublin.  On  the  outbreak  of  the  Irish 
rebellion,  she  was  sent  over  to  this  country,  and  her  husband 
followed  soon  after.  Andrew  who  was  early  of  Cambridge, 
and  one  of  the  magistrates  at  Hartford,  1637,  and  died  at 
Hadley  1669,  probably  came  from  Rutlandshire,  England. 
He  has  no  descendants  in  the  male  line,  his  son  Isaac  having 
died  young.  Nathaniel  Bacon  of  Middietown,  was  a  neph- 
ew of  Andrew  and  a  son  of  William  of  Stretton,  Rutland 
County,  England.  The  Bacons  of  Connecticut  were  prom- 
inent men,  and  the  prevalence  of  the  same  names  in  the 
Connecticut  and  Barnstable  indicates  a  community  of  origin. 

Mr.  Nathaniel  Bacon  was  one  of  the  first  settlers,  and  the 
house  lot  assigned  to  him,  is  now  owned  by  his  descendants. 
Without  a  plan,  it  will  be  difficult  to  state  intelligibly,  the 
manner  in  which  the  lots  in  the  vicinity  of  the  Meeting 
House  in  the  East  Parish  were  laid   out.     The   locations    of 

*Mr.  Savajre  in  commenting  on  the  evidence  given  in  1661  by 
Dea  jolin  Fletcher  of  IMill'oril,  Conn.,  relative  to  the  ancestry  of  Na- 
thaniel Bacon,  of  M,iddletown,  remarks  that  it  "might  without  vio- 
lence be  construed  to  refer  equally  to  the  Barnstable  family,  though  it 
is  leSvS  probable."  It  it  very  much  "less  probable."  The  affidavits  of 
Dea.  Fletcher  and  some  others  were  talsen  at  New  Haven,  before  Na- 
thaniel Bacon,  Esq  ,  and  tliey  state  distinctly  that  "Nathaniel  Bacon 
then  present,  was  the  oldest  son  of  William  Bacon, "&c.  The  abstracts 
nt  thuap.  affidavits  ffiven  bv_Hinman.  are  wanting  in  clearness,  and 
^ge. 


22  GENEALOGICAL    NOTES    OF    BARNSTABLE    FAMILIES. 

all  the  roads,  excepting  that  to  Hyannis,  anciently  Baker's 
Lane,  have  been  changed,  and  the  ancient  boundaries  on  the 
dividing  lines  between  the  lots  have  mostly  been  removed. 
As  early  as  1653,  nearly  all  the  land  in  this  neighborhood 
had  changed  ownership.  The  present  county  I'oad,  proba- 
bly passed  on  the  south  of  Mr.  James  Lewis'  house,  now 
owned  by  Frederick  W.  Crocker,  Esq.  When  the  town 
was  settled,  the  present  county  road,  from  the  Meeting 
House  to  Baker's  Lane,  was  a  deep  gully,  impassable  for 
teams.  When  the  present  road  was  laid  out  in  1686  it  was 
located  "up  Cobb's  Hill"  through  this  gully.  The  "Old 
Mill  Way"  joined  the  county  road  on  the  east  of  the  Meet- 
ing House,  the  gate  at  the  entrance  standing  north  of  the 
town  pound.  From  this  point  the  "Old  Mill  Way"  extend- 
ed north  to  the  Mill  Pond,  and  thence  across  the  ancient 
causeway  sometimes  called  Blushe's  bridge,  to  the  Common 
Field.  The  ends  of  the  house  lots  butted  on  Mill  Way  not 
on  the  county  road.  Beginning  at  the  south  the  first  lot 
on  west  side  was  Roger  Goodspeed's.  His  house  stood  on 
this  lot  in  1649,  but  in  1653,  he  had  surrendered  it  to  the 
town  and  taken  other  lands  in  exchange.  The  Meeting 
House  on  Cobb's  Hill  and  the  lands  now  occupied  for  bury- 
ing grounds  were  included  in  this  lot. 

The  second  lot  on  the  north  of  Goodspeed's  contained 
seven  acres,  and  was  set  off  to  Elder  Henry  Cobb. 

The  third  lot  containing  six  acres  was  laid  out  to  Thomas 
Huckins  by  an  order  of  the  town  dated  14th  Sep.  1640. 

The  tourth  lot,  where  the  late  Dea.  Joseph  Chipman  re- 
sided, was  Dolar  and  Nicholas  Davis. 

On  the  east  of  the  "Mill  Way"  the  first  lot  was  Mr.  Na- 
thaniel Bacon's,  bounded  south  by  the  county  road,  west  by 
Roger  Goodspeed  and  the  Mill  Way,  north  (^in  1654)  by 
Goodman  Cobb,  and  east  partly  by  Goodman  Cobb,  and 
pi»rtly  by  Goodman  Foxwell's  land.  At  the  settlement  of 
the  town  the  land  on  the  north  of  the  Bacon  house  lot  was  a 
dense  swamp,  unfit  for  cultivation,  or  building  purposes. 
It  contained  some  valuable  timber  and  was  reserved  as  town 
commons.  It  was  subsequently  granted  in  small  lots  to 
Goodman  Cobb,  John  Davis  and  others,  and  subsequently 
bought  by  the  Bacon  family.  The  land  between  the  swamp 
and  mill  pond,  on  the  east  of  the  Way  was  mostly  owned  by. 


GENEALOGICAL    NOTES    OF    BARNSTABLE    FAMILIES.  23 

Dolar  Davis  who  sold  it  to  Abraham  Blish  in  1657,  who 
afterwards  sold  it  to  the  Bacons. 

Mr.  Bacon  owned  sixteen  acres  of  land  in  the  old  Com- 
mon Field,  a  name  still  retained  and  eleven  acres  in  the  new 
Common  Field.*  He  also  owned  the  house  lot  and  land 
now  owned  by  Frederick  Cobb,  containing  twelve  acres, 
"bounded  northerly  by  the  highway,  westerly  by  the  road 
running  into  ye  woods,  80  rods,  easterly  by  Goodman  Fox- 
well."  Also  four  acres  bought  of  Henry  Taylor,  "bounded 
southerly  by  ye  highway,  northerly  by  Mr.  Dimmock's 
marsh,  easterly  partly  by  Mr.  Dimmock  and  partly  by  John 
Scudder's  upland,  westerly  by  Nicolas  Davis." 

In  addition  to  these  lots  he  owned  thirty-two  acres  of  land 
and  meadow  at  Cotuit,  meadows  in  the  mill  pond  and  at 
Sand}^  Neck,  and  other  tracts  of  land  and  rights  in  the  com- 
mons. 

Mr.  Bacon  was  a  tanner  and  currier.  He  had  vats  in  the 
low  grounds  near  his  house.  As  there  were  other  tanneries 
in  town,  it  is  probable  that  he  worked  at  his  trade  in  the 
winter  and  was  employed  in  the  cultivation  of  his  lands  the 
remainder  of  the  year.  During  the  latter  part  of  his  life, 
his  public  duties  absorbed  a  large  part  of  his  time. 

He  built  his  house  in  the  year  1642.  It  was  taken  down 
about  thirty-five  years  ago  and  the  old  oak  timber  was  as 
sound  and  as  hard  as  when  cut  from  the  forest.  It  was  two 
stories  high,  and  built  in  the  style  then  common.  It  was 
about  22  feet  in  the  front  and  26  feet  in  the  rear.  The 
lower  story  was  divided  into  three  rooms.  The  front  room 
was  16  feet  square,  low  in  the  walls  with  a  large  summer 
beam  across  the  centre  overhead.  The  bedroom  floor  was 
elevated  two  feet  above  the  other  floors  to  give  more  height 
to  the  cellar  under  it.  The  kitchen  was  very  small.  The 
second  story,  which  was  very  low  in  the  wall,  was  divided 
into  three  rooms  corresponding  in  size  with  those  in  the 
lower  story.  The  chimney  was  of  stone,  few  if.  any  bricks 
had  then  been  made  in  the  Colony.     The  fire  place  in  the 

*The  Old  Commou  Field  extended  from  Blushes  Point  to  the  west 
Waterintc  place,  bounded  north  by  the  harbor,  and  south  by  the  mill 
pond.  The  name  is  a  free  translation  of  the  Indian  name  Mattakeese 
which  means  ''old"  or  "worn  out  planting  lands."  The  new  Com- 
mon Field  extended  from  the  V\est  Watering  place  to  the  bounds  of 
Yarmouth,  bounded  norib  by  the  harbor,  and  south  by  the  County 
Rnqd.  and  included  the  Indian  reservation. 


24        GENEALOGICAL   NOTES   OF  BAEKSTABLE   FAMILIES. 

front  room  was  eight  feet  wide,  four  feet  deep,  and  the  n^an- 
tle  laid  high,  so  that  a  tall  person  could  walk  under  it  by 
stooping  a  little.  The  oven  was  often  built  on  the  outside 
of  the  house  with  the  mouth  opening  in  one  corner  on  the 
back  side  of  the  lire  place.  The  fire  was  built  in  the  centre, 
and  on  a  cold  winter  evening  a  seat  in  the  chimney  corner  was 
a  luxury  unknown  in  modern  times.  The  fire  place  in  the 
kitchen  was  necessarily  smaller,  in  a  house  of  this  construc- 
tion, especially  when  the  oven  opened  into  it.  There  was 
usually  a  fire  place  in  the  front  chamber.  The  windows 
were  small  and  oiled  paper  was  used  instead  of  glass  in  many 
houses.  The  successive  occupants  of  this  house,  altered 
and  enlarged  it  so  many  times,  that  in  1825  it  was  entirely 
unlike  the  original.  The  height  of  the  rooms  had  been  in- 
creased, by  lengthening  the  posts  three  feet, — a  large  addi- 
tion had  been  put  on  the  west,  and  several  on  the  rear. 
So  that  it  covered  more  than  four  times  as  much  ground  a^ 
at  first. 

Mr.  Bacon  was  proposed  as  a  freeman  in  June  1645  and 
admitted  June  1646.  In  1650  he  was  constable  of  the  town 
of  Barnstable,  and  a  deputy  to  the  Colony  Court  thirteen 
years  from  1652  to  1665.  In  1657  he  was  chosen  an  assist- 
ant and  was  re-elected  annually  till  his  death  in  1673.  In 
1658  and  1667  he  was  a  member  of  the  council  of  war.  He 
frequently  served  on  committees  appointed  hy  the  Court, 
and  was  a  prominent  and  influential  man  in  the  Colony. 

It  would  be  instructive  and  interesting  to  trace  step  by 
step  the  progress  of  Mr.  Bacon  through  life.  He  came  to 
Barnstable  a  young  man,  comparatively  poor,  without 
friends  to  assist  him,  and  without  the  advantages  of  a  o-ood 
education  ;  but  a  good  moral  character,  good  business  habits, 
energy  and  industry  more  than  compensated  for  the  want  of 
these  advantages.  He  died  Oct.  1673,  probably  not  60 
years  of  age.  His  widow  survived  him  many  years.  She 
was  living  in  1691. 

I  do  not  find  his  will  on  record ;  he  probably  made  none. 
The  inventory  of  his  estate,  appraised  at  £632,  10.  2,  is 
dated  Oct  29,  1673,  sworn  to  by  his  widow  Mistress  Han- 
nah Bacon,  and  letters  of  administration  granted   to    her. 

On  the  4th  of  March  following  "Mr.  Thomas  Hinckley,  Mr. 
Thomas    Walley,    William  Crocker,    John  Thompson,   and 


GENEALOGICAL   NOTES    OF   BARNSTABLE   FAMILIES.  25 

Thomas  Huckins  were  appointed  by  the  Court  to  settle  the 
estate  of  Mr.  Nathaniel  Bacon  deceased,  among  Mrs.  Han- 
nah Bacon  and  her  children,  which  settlement  under  their 
hands,  or  any  three  of  their  hands,  shall  be  accompted 
against  all  claims,  or  contentions  at  any  time  arising  about 
the  aforesaid  estate  or  any  pai-t  thereof." 

Nathaniel  Bacon  married  Dec.  4,  1642,  Miss  Hannah, 
daughter  of  the  Rev.  John  Mayo,then  teacher  of  the  church 
in  Barnstable, 

Children  Born  in  Barnstable. 
I.  Hannah,  burn  Sept.  4,  1643,  bap'd  8th  Dec.  1644.  She 
married  Mr.  Thomas  Walley,  Jr.,  son  of  Rev.  Thomas 
Walley  of  Barnstable,  and  had  one  son  Thomas,  who 
died  leaving  no  issue ;  and  daughters,  Hannah,  who 
m.  iirsi,  Wm  Stone,  and  had  two  dau's ;  second,  James 
Leonard,  by  whom  she  had  Lydia  who  m.  Thomas 
Cobb  ;  and  Elizabeth,  who  m.  Edward  Adams,  Hannah 
m.  Feb.16,1675,  her  second  husband  Rev. George  Shove 
of  Taunton,  and  had  Mary  Aug  11,  1676,  Johanna 
Sept.  28,  1678;  Edward  Oct.  3,  1680,  and  Mercy  May 
1682.  She  is  named  as  one  of  the  "remote  members" 
of  the  Barnstable  church  in  1683.  She  died  in  Taun- 
ton Sept.  1685,  aged  42  vears. 
II.  Nathaniel,  bap'd  i5th  Feb.  1645-6. 
ni.  Mary,  born  Aug.  12.1648,  bap'd  20  Aug.  1648. 

IV.  Samuel,  born  Feb.  25,  1650-1. 

V.  Elizabeth,  born  Jan'y  28,  1653-4.  She  died  unmarried 
in  1676,  according  to  the  Plymouth  records  '-in  the 
28th  year  of  her  age."  She  was  only  21,  or  at  most, 
22  years  of  age.  Her  estate  was  settled  by  agreement 
on  record. 

VI.  Jeremiah,  born  May  8,  1657. 

VII.  Mercy,  born  Feb.  28,  1659-60,  married  Hon.  John 
Otis,  the  third  of  the  name,  July  18,  1683.       She  died 

Note. — In  the  account  of  the  Allyn  family  I  inadvertantly  stated 
that  Capt.  Samuel  Mayo  bought  his  house  lot  of  John  Ca.sely.  This  is 
a  mistake.  John  Casely's  house  lot  ■w-a.s  on  tlie  South  side  of  the  road. 
Itconlained  four  acres,  the  south-we.st  corner  being  near  the  Jaii  lands. 
An  investigation  of  this  noatter,  seems  ti  confirm  the  trndition  that 
the  present  road  between  Jail  Hill  and  the  old  Sturges  tavern  was  a 
private  way  belonging  to  the  Lotbrops,  before  the  year  1686,  when  It 
was  laid  out  as  a  public  highway.  In  1654  there  was  a  highway  from 
near  the  Savings  Bank  Building  to  the  wharf  now  owned  by  Josiah 
Hinckley,  and  the  house  lots  were  bounded  by  that  road. 


26         GENEALOGICAL    NOTES    OF   BARNSTABLE    FAMILIES. 

Dec.  10,  1737  aged  77  years.     She  was  buried  at  "West 
Barnstable,  where  a  monument  is  erected  to  her   mem- 
ory.—  [See  Otis  Family.] 
VIII.   John,  born  June,  1651  the  record  says,  but   accord- 
ing to  his  grave  stones  in  the  burying  ground  near  the 
Meeting   House  in  the  East  Parish,   he    was    born     in 
June  1665.     He  "died  Aug.  20,  1731,  iu  the  67th  year 
of  his  age." 
Nathaniel  Bacon,  2d,   bought  a  part  of  the   house  lot  of 
Elder  Henry  Cobb,  including  the  stone  or  fortification  house 
thereon,  afterwards   owned   by   the   third  Nathaniel    Bacon, 
who  kept  a  public   house.     He  also  inherited  the  mansion 
house  of  his  father ;    but   his   mother  having  a  life   estate 
therein,  it  did  not  come  into  his  possession. 

He  married  March  27,  1673,  Sarah,  daughter  of  Gov. 
Thomas  Hinckley.  She  died  February  16,  l()86-7,  aged 
40.  He  married  for  his  second  wife  Hannah  [Lumbert?]  a 
young  woman.  He  died  Dec,  1691,  aged  46.  In  his  will 
dated  Aug.  6,  1691,  proved  May  9,  1692,  he  does  not  pro- 
vide liberally  for  his  wife  Hannah*,  and  contraiy  to  the 
usual  custom,  did  not  name  her  execijtrix  of  his  will. 

He  also  names  his  son  Natlianiel^arid  Samuel,  his  daughter 
Mary  and  Elizabeth,  l^f^-^is  second  wife,  and 
his  "honored  mother  Baoon."  He  had  two  dwelling 
houses,  to  Nathaniel  he  gave  "one  house  which  he  will,"  and . 
the  other  to  his  younger  son  Samuel.  He  appointed  as 
executors  of  his  will,  "My  loving  brethen  Jeremiah  Bacon 
and  John  Otis,  and  my  trusty  and  well  beloved  friends 
Jonathan  Russel  and  Lieut.  James  Lewis,  all  of  this  town  of 
Barnstable." 
Children  of  Naih'l  Bacon  2d,  and  his  wife  Sarah  Hinckley , 

born  in  Barnstable. 
I.  Nathaniel,  born  Sept.  9,  1674.  He  was  married  by 
Maj.  Mayhew,  Nov.  11,  1696,  to  Ruth  Doggett,  at 
Martha's  Vineyard.  His  children  were  Thomas,  born 
Sept.  30,  1697  ;  removed  to  Eastham  ;  David  born  Dec. 
11,  1700;  Jonathan,  born  March  11,  1703  ;  Hannah,  born 
Jan'y  15,  1704-5,  and  Sarah,  born  Jan'y   6,    1707-8.     He 

*In  1698  she  married  John  Davis,  Jr.,  his  third  wife,  and    had    Nicho- 
las. Jodediah,  Desire,  Noah  and  perhaps  other  children       In    1705  she 
is  called  of  Palmouih.     She  had  one  daughtei-,  Elizabeth,    by   her  sec- 
ond husband. 


GENEALOGICAL   NOTES    OF   BARNSTABLE    I'AMILIES.  27 

died  ill  Barnstable  Jan'y  1737-8  aged  (i3,  and  his  widow 
died  Aug  6,  1756,  aged  80.  He  was  a  deacon  of  the 
church,  a  blaclcsmith  by  trade,  and  kept  a  public  house. 

II.  Mary,  born  Oct.  9,  1677,  married  Xov.  5,  1702,  John 
Crociver,  of  Barnstable.     She  died  March  1711,  aged  33. 

III.  Elizabeth,   born  April    11,    1680,    married   Aug.    31, 
1704  Israel  Tapper,  of  Sandwich. 

IV.  Samuel,  born  Jan'y  20,  1682,  married  March  30,  1704 
Mary,  daughter  of   Thomas    Huckins.      His    second    wife 
was  Sarah,  daughter  of   Edward    Taylor,    and    wido^v    of 
Samuel  Allyn,  Jr.,  whom  he  married  26th    Jan'y  1708. — 
His  children  were  Ebenezer,  born    March  16,   1705,    died 
July  17,  1706;  Ebenezer,    Dec.    4,    1708;    ^Mercv,    born 
May  22,  1710;  and  Edward.  Jan'y  23,   1714-15.  ' 
Deacon  Samuel  Bacon,  resided  in  the  ancient  far^iily  man- 
sion which  he  transmitted  to  his  son   Edward.     Dea.   Bacon 
died  April  29,  1728,  aged  46,  and  his   widow    Sarah,    Sept. 
24,  1753,  aged  73.     Ebenezer  of  this  family  married  Jan'y 
17,  1734,  Lydia  Lothrop,  and    he    removed   with    his    wife 
and  five  children  in  1745,  to  Lebanon,  Conn.     His  house,  a 
one  story,  gambrel  roofed,  double  house,  stood  on  the    east- 
erly part  of  the  land,  which, w.as  the  great  lot    of  l{ev.    Mr. 
Lothrop,  where  Daniel   Downes    now    lives.       He    sold   his 
house  and  land  to  Capt.  John  Cnllio,  a  Scotchman.     Mercy, 
daughter  of  Deacon  Samuel,  married  Aug.  5,1744,  Jonathan 
Hallett,  of  Hyannis,  a  son  of  David  Hallett.     The  late  Ben- 
jamin Hallett,  Esq.,  was  a  son,  and  the  present   Hon.    Ben- 
jamin F.  Hallett,  of  Boston,  a  grandson,    and  of  the    sixth 
generation  from  Nathaniel  Bacon,   the  first  settler.     He   has 
numerous  descendants. 

Hon.  Edward  Bacon,  youngest  son  of  Dea.  Samuel,  was 
a  distinguished  man  in  his  time.  He  held  many  important 
offices.  He  took  an  active  part  during  the  Revolution,  and 
in  the  stirring  times  immediately  preceding  it.  His  patriot- 
ism was  at  one  time  doubted  :  but  the  resolutions  passed  by 
the  town  and  recoi'ded,  vindicate  his  character  as  patriot  and 
a  man.  He  inherited  the  ancient  mansion  house  of  the 
Bacons,  afterwards  owned  by  his  youngest  son  Ebenezer. 
He  married  Sept.  7,  1744,  Patience  daughter  of  Benjamin 
Marston ;  she  died  Oct.  21,  1764,  and  he  married  Dec.  21, 
1765,    Rachel   Doane,    of    VVellfleet.       He    died  March  16. 


28         GENEALOGrCAL   IfOTES    OF   BARNSTABLE   FAMILIES, 

1783,  aged  68,  and  is  buried  near  the  church  in  the  East 
Parish.  His  widow  Racbael  in.  Dr.  Thomas  Smith, 
Woods  Holl.  He  had  nine  children,  five  of  whom  died  in 
iniancy,  namely :  1.  Edward,  born  Oct.  19,  1742,  who 
married  Lydia  Gorham,  and  died  in  1811.  2.  Lydia,  born 
February  3,  1744-5,  died  April  28,  1745.  3.  Nymphas, 
June  2,  1746,  died  Dec.  i  ,  1746.  4.  Sajnanel,  Oct.  17, 
1747,  died  Nov,  7.  1747.  5.  James,  Oct.  30,  1748,  who 
married  Johanna  Hamblen,  and  removed  to  Freeport  Maine, 
fi.  Susannah,  Dec.  13,  1750,  died  March  24,  1753.  7. 
Sarah,  born  Dec.  25,  1752,  died  April  11,  1776.  8.  Susan- 
nah, Feb.  14,  1755;  and  Ebenezer,  Aug.  30,  1756,  a  dis- 
tinguished man.  He  held  many  important  offices  was  a  cor- 
rect business  man,  of  sound  judgment,  intelligent,  a  good 
neighbor  and  citizen,  and  hospitable  to  a  fault.  Whatever 
Squire  Bacon  said  was  regarded  as  law  by  his  neighbors,  a, 
fact  which  shows  that  he  was  a  man  of  worth  and  influence. 
He  died  of  consumption,  in  1811,  aged  55  years,  leaving  a 
numerous  family,  who  were  "trained  up  in  the  way  they 
should  go,"  and  now  that  "they  are  old  they  do  not  depart 
from  it."  ji/y 

Samuel  Bacon,  son  of  Nntharfel,  removed  to  Hingham, 
and  married  17th  Dec,  1675,  Mary,  daughter  of  John  Jacob. 
He  died  in  Hingham,  Feb.  18,  1680-1,  aged  29  years,  11 
mos.,  -23  days.  In  his  -will  dated  Jan'y  13,  1680-1  he  names 
his  honored  mother.  Hannah  Bacon,  widow ;  his  two  dauo-h- 
ters,  Hannah  and  Mary,  and  his  wife,  Mary,  whom  he  ap- 
points sole  executrix  ;  and  for  overseers,  his  father-in-law, 
John  Jacob,  of  Hingham,  his  brother-in-law  George  Shove, 
of  Taunton,  Shubael  Dimmock,  of  Barnstable,  and  his  broth- 
er Jeremiah  Bacon.  He  had  property  in  Hingham  and 
Barnstable,  all  of  which  was  apprized  at  £334,8,2.  His 
childien  born  in  Hingham  were  Hannah,  born  Oct.  1676, 
died  ;i<jed  two  months.  Hannah,  again,  born  Feb.  16,  1678 
and  Mary,  born  Feb.  1680.  Respecting  these  daughters  I 
have  no  certain  information.  Tradition  says  they  removed 
to  Barnstable,  never  married,  and  built  the  large  two  story 
gambrel  roofed  house  occupied  by  John  Bacon,  Jr.,  and 
afterwards  by  his  son,  the  late  Capt.  Isaac  Bacon. 

Jeremiah  Bacon,  son  of  Nathaniel,  was  a  tanner.  His 
house  which  was  a  two  story  building  with  a  Leantoo  on  the 


o 


GENEALOGICAL   NOTES    OF    BARNSTABLE    FAMILIES.         29 

west  end,  stood  a  little  distance  north-east  from  William 
Cobb's  house.  His  tannery  was  in  the  low  ground  on  the 
north-east  his  house.  He  married  Dee.  1686,  Eliza- 
beth Howes  of  Yarmouth.  He  died  in  1706,  aged  49,  leav- 
ing a  good  estate,  which  was  settled  Feb.  15,  1712-13.  His 
house  lot,  a  part  of  the  Dimmock  farm,  contained  nine  acres 
and  he  had  thirty  acres  in  the  Common  Field,  adjoining  the 
house  lot  on  the  north,  lands  at  Stony  Cove,  and  at  Middle- 
boro,  meadows  and  wood  land.  Of  the  homestead  two  and 
three  fourths  acres  were  set  off  to  Job,  bounded  south  by 
the  highway,  west  by  land  of  .Vlr.  John  Otis,  (now  Lot  N. 
Otis,)  and  the  meadow  of  Samuel  Dimmock,  north  by  the 
Creek.  This  land  is  now  owned  by  William  Cobb.  To 
Samuel,  his  eldest  son,  and  his  mother,  three  acres,  bounded 
south  by  the  highway,  west  by  Job  Bacon,  and  north  by  the 
creek,  with  the  barn  and  other  buildings  thereon.  This  land 
is  now  owned  by  Solomon  Hinckley.  To  Jeremiah,  second 
son,  3  and  1-2  acres,  bounded  south  by  the  highway,  west 
by  Samuel  Bacon's  land,  (now  by  the  town  road  to  the 
Common  Field,)  north  by  the  creek,  and  east  by  Shubael 
Dimmock's  laud.  This  lot  was  afterwards  owned  by  Jamos 
Delap,  and  is  now  owned  by  the  widow  Anna  Otis.  Samuel 
had  10,  Jeremiah  9  1-2  and  Job  9  acres  in  the  Common 
Field.  Joseph  had  land  at  Stony  Cove,  and  1-3  of  land  at 
Middleboro,  &c.  Ebenezer  one  third  of  land  at  Middleboro, 
&c.  Nathaniel  had  one  third  of  land  at  Middleboro,  &c.  ;  in 
his  portion  were  1  silver  spoon,  1  silver  porringer,  &c. — 
His  Wid.  Elizabeth,  and  daughters  Anna  and  Mary  had  por- 
tions set  to  them  in  severalty.  Sarah  and  Elizabeth  are  not 
named,  and  were  probably  dead. 
Children  of  Jeremiah  Bacon  and  his  wife  Elizabeth  Howes 

born  in  Barnstable. 
I.     Sarah,  born  Oct.  16,  1687,  probably  died  young. 
H.     Anna,  born  Mar.  16,  1688-9. 

HI.Mercy,  born  Jan'y  30,  1689-90,  married  Mar.  19,  1719, 
Thomas  Joyce  of  Yarmouth,  had  a  large  family  of  girls 
noted  for  their  beauty,  which  however  did  not  prevent  the 
father  from  committing  suicide. 
IV.  Samuel,  born  Aug.  15,  1692.  He  married  three 
wives.  1st,  Deborah  daughter  of  Nathaniel  Otis,  who 
came  from  Nantucket   and   settled    in    Barnstable.       She 


30  GENEALOGICAL    NOTES    OF    BARNSTABLE    FAMILIES. 

died  May  29th,  1721.  2d,  he  marvied  J;m'y  7,  1724-5 
Wid.  Hannah  JRussell,  a  daughter  of  Joseph  Paine,  Esq., 
of  Harwich.  She  had  previously  married  on  the  20th  of 
Jan'y  1715-16,  Philip  Eussel).  'She  died  May  8,  1753 
aged  58,  (the  church  records  say  "about  50.")  3d  Mary 
Howland,  Feb.  21,  1754.  He  was  a  captain,  a  man  of 
some  property,  and  had  the  bump  of  self  esteem  largely 
developed.  Notwithstanding  his  official  standing  and  his 
being  junior  to  Dea.  Samuel,  he  vvas  always  known  as 
Scussion  Sam,  a  nickname  exceedingly  mortifying  to  his 
dignity.  He  believed  that  his  family  was  entitled  to  more 
respect  than  the  other  Bacon  families  and  was  often  vexed 
because  his  neighbors  thought  otherwise.  He  had  a  habit 
of  saying,  "we  \vill  discuss  that  matter,"  hence  his  nick- 
name. He  resided  in  the  house  which  was  his  father's 
and  died  Jan'y  29,  1770  aged  77.  His  children  born  in 
Barnstable  were  Sarah,  Feb.  24,  1713-14,  who  married 
Jabez  Linnell,  Nov.  11,  1736;  Oris,  May  7,  1715,  mar- 
ried Hannah  Lewis  Nov.  23,  1738,  and  died  July  11, 
1773,  without  issue,  and  bequeathed  his  estate  to  his 
nephew,  the  late  Mr.  Oris  Bacon ;  Thomas,  Oct.  23,  1716, 
married  Desire  Hallett  Feb.  1,  1745  ;  Susannah,  Dec.  24, 
1718,  married  Nath'l  Cobb  De^  14,  1738  ;  Deborah,  Dec. 
4,  1720,  married  Peter  Pierce-'Nov.  12,  1741  ;  Hannah, 
baptized  Feb.  13,  1725-6,  and  Mary  baptized  July  26, 
1730.  There  are  no  descendants  in  the  male  line  of  Capt. 
Samuel  Bacon  now  living  in  Barnstable.  A  great-grandson 
residing  in  AVisconsin  has  many.  Oris  Bacon,  son  of  Oris 
died  at  Lima  Centre,  Wisconsin,  Nov.  21,  1862,  aged  85 
years,  7  months,  5  days. 

V.  Jeremiah,  born  Oct.  2,  "1694,  married  Abigail  Parker 
(she  married  2d,  Nov.  10,  1732,  Mr.  Eliphalet  Carpenter 
of  Woodstock,)  and  had  Prince  June  15,  1720,  and  Jer- 
emiah, Jan'y  14,  1723-4.  The  latter  married  Hannah 
Taylor  April  23,  1750. 

VI.  Joseph,  born  June  15.  1695,  married  Patience  Annable 

1722,  and  had  seven  children.     1.  Joseph  born  April  11, 

1723,  married  Mirian  Coleman  Dec.  13,  1750  ;  2.  Desire' 
born  Dec.  3,  1724,  married  Joseph  Davis,  Jr.,  Sept.  24, 
1745.  3.  Jane,  born  Feb.  28  1727-8  married  James 
Davis,  Jr.,  Sept.  24,  1745.     4.  Samuel,  father  of  Robert 


GENEALOGICAL    NOTES    OF    BARNSTABLE    FAMILIES.  31 

Bacon  of  Boston,  born  March  28,  1731.  He  died  on 
board  the  Jersey  prison  ship.  One  account  says : 
"Samuel  Bacon  of  Barnstable,  died  on  board  the  prison 
ship  at  St.  Lucia  1781."  5.  Patience,  born  June  29, 
173-1,  married  May  19,  1747,  Ben.  Davis.  6.  Annah, 
born  July  29,  1737,  died  June  20,  1761.  7.  Mercy,  born 
April  17,  1740,  married  Sept.  4,  1760,  Ben.  Lumbert. 

VII.  Ebenezer,  born  March  11,  1698. 

VIII.  Nathaniel,  born  Sept.  11,  1700,  married  June  11, 
1726,  Sarah  Cobb.  He  lived  in  the  Otis  Loring  house 
and  removed  to  New  Jersey  about  1750.  He  had  born  in 
Barnstable,  Rebecca,  Dec.  17,  1726  ;  Jeremiah,  born  June 
25,  1732;  Elizabeth,  born  May  1,  1734;  Sarah,  born  May 
9,  1736  ;  (she  said  her  sister  Elizabeth  walked  from  New 
Jersey,  barefooted  ;)  died  unmarried  in  1815;  Nathaniel 
born  March  3,  1737-8. 

IX.  Job,  born  March  23,  1703,  married  Elizabeth  Mills, 
March  10,  1725. 

X.  Elizabeth,  born  Aug.  6,  1705. 

John  Bacon,  Esq.,  youngest  son  of  Nathaniel,  was  eight 
years  of  age  when  his  father  died  in  1673.  Beside  his  share 
in  his  father's  estate,  his  brothers  Nathaniel  and  Samuel 
bought  for  him  Nov.  25,  1676,  twelve  acres  of  land  of 
Major  John  Walley,  administrator  on  the  estate  of  Nicholas 
Davis,  deceased.  The  eastern  half,  however,  seems  to  have 
been  transferred  to  his  sister  Mercy,  afterwards  wife  of  Hon. 
John  Otis. 

Extracts*  from  ancient  deeds,  and  other  records,  enable 
me  to  state  in  an  intelligible  form  the  original  laying  out  of 
the  lands  east  of  Cobb's,  or  Meeting  House  Hill.  The  house 
lot  of  Roger  Goodspeed  as  already  stated  was  bounded  west 
by  the  present  Mill  Lane  and  the  Hyannis  road.  On  the 
north  side  of  the  highway  the  next  lot  on  the  east  was  laid 
out  to  Nathaniel  Bacon,  this  extended  to  the  top  of  the  Hill 
a  little  east  of  the  spot  where  the  late  Capt.  Isaac  Bacon's 
house  stood.  On  the  south  side  of  the  road,  the  lot  next 
east  of  Goodspeed's  was  owned  in  1654  by  the  Wid.  Mary 
Hallett,  and  is  now  owned  by  S.  B.  Phinney  and  the  heirs 
of  Timothy  Reed,  deceased.     The  next    lot  was  laid  out   to 


*The  extracts  referred  to  are  omitteo. 


32  GENEALOGICAL    NOTES    OF    BARNSTABLE    FAMILIES. 

Lieutenant  James  Lewis  and  is  now  owned  by  F.  W.  Crock- 
er. Tlie  next  lot  now  owned  by  Frederick  Cobb,  on  the 
east  of  the  Lane  (called  Cobb's  lane)  was  laid  out  to  Nath'l 
Bacon.  The  eastern  boundary  of  this  lot  corresponding 
with  the  eastern  boundary  of  his  house  lot  on  the  north  side 
of  the  highway.  Richard  Foxwell's  lots  were  next  east, 
four  acres  lying  on  each  side  of  the  road.  The  Bacons 
bought  this  land  early.  A  part  of  that  bought  of  Foxwell 
on  the  north  side  is  yet  owned  by  them,  and  a  part  by  the 
Agricultural  society.  The  Foxwell  land  on  the  south  of  the 
road  is  now  owned  by  Joseph  H.  Hallet  and  James  Otis. 
Next  east  of  the  Foxwell  land  on  the  south  of  the  road,  was 
the  great  lot  of  Elder  Henry  Cobb  containing  sixty  acres. — 
It  extended  to  the  range  of  fence  a  little  west  of  the  present 
dwelling  house  of  Joseph  Cobb.  Henry  Taylor  owned  two 
acres  at  the  north  east  comer  of  this  lot.  Next  east  of  Elder 
Cobb's  great  lot  was  the  farm  of  Joshua  Lumbard  extendino- 
to  the  range  on  the  east  of  the  house  of  Amos  Otis,  deceased, 
and  bounded  east  by  the  great  lot  of  Rev.  John  Lothrop. 
Joshua  Lumbert,  when  he  removed  to  South  Sea,  sold  this 
lot.  The  front  was  owned  by  Schoolmaster  Lewis,  and  the 
rear  by  Robert  Shelly,  who  sold  -to  Samuel  Norman.  Mr. 
Lothrop's  great  lot  contained  45  acres,  and  extended  to  the 
range  of  fence  between  the  houses  of  Daniel  Downes  and 
Joshua  Thayer.  This  lot  was  sold  by  the  heirs  of  Mr. 
Lothrop  to  John  Scudder,  and  he  sold  his  house  and  six 
acres  of  land  to  Stephen  Davis,  and  the  remainder  of  the 
land  to  the  Bacons.  On  the  north  side  of  the  road  the  lot 
next  east  of  Foxwell's  was  Nicholas  Davis' ;  this  land  ex- 
tended to  the  eastern  boundary  of  the  Dimmock  farm,  which 
is  the  range  of  fence  between  the  houses  of  Charles  Sturo-is 
and  Solomon  Hinckley.  From  this  point,  the  Dimmock 
land  was  bounded  115  rods  on  the  south  by  the  highway  to 
the  turn  in  the  road  east  of  the  house  of  William  W.  Stur- 
gis.  The  Dimmocks  sold  some  of  their  laud  very  early. 
Nicholas  Davis  bought  six  acres  at  the  west  end  and  which 
was  a  part  of  the  tracts  which  his  administrator  sold  to  John 
Bacon,  but  was  afterwards  transferred  to  his  sister  Mercy 
and  is  now  owned  by  her  descendants  Solomon  Hinckley 
and  Lot  N.  Otis.  Four  acres  on  the  east  of  the  last  named 
lot  were  bought  by  Henry  Taylor,  and  by  him  sold  in  1659 
to  Nath'l    Bacon.     John  Scudder   bought  six    acres  of  the 


GENEALOGICAL   NOTES    OF   BARNSTABLE   FAMILIES.         33 

Dimtnock  land  which  he  sold  to  the  Bacons.  The  two  last  lots 
were  afterwards  the  property  of  Jeremiah  Bacon,  and  divid- 
ed in  1712  as  above  stated. 

The  Bacons  owned  extensive  tracts  of  land.  John  Ba- 
con, Esq.,  owned  on  the  road  the  lots  which  belonged  to  Fox- 
well,  and  the  lot  of  Nicholas  Davis.  He  owned  a  house  and 
farm  at  Strawberry  Hill  at  South  Sea,  and  extensive  tracts 
of  wood  land  and  meadows. 

He  was  bred  a  lawyer,  and  had  an  extensive  practice. 
He  was  a  Judge  of  the  Court  of  Common  Pleas,  and  held 
other  offices.  He  wrote  the  worst  hand,  for  a  man  of  busi- 
ness, that  I  have  ever  met  with ;  his  lines  were  crooked  in 
every  direction ;  his  letters  cramped  and  awkwardly  formed, 
and  difficult  to  decipher;  the  execution  shabby  and  misera- 
ble. It  has  been  remarked  that  a  man's  character  is  devel- 
oped in  his  hand-writing.  If  John  Bacon,  Esq.,  is  to 
be  judged  by  that  rule,  a  high  estimate  cannot  be  placed  on 
his  orderly  habits  or  intellectual  endowments.  He  was  much 
employed  in  public  business,  was  a  church  member  in  good 
standing,  and  his  moral  character  was  unblemished. 

John  Bacon,  Esq.,  youngest  son  of  Nathaniel,  married 
June  17,  1686,  Mary,  daughter  of  Capt.  John  Hawes 
of  Yarmouth.  She  died,  March  5,  1725-6,  aged  61  years. 
He  married  for  his  second  wife,  Sept.  9,  1726,  Madame 
Sarah  Warren  of  Plymouth,  a  widow-woman  having  children 
and  grand-children  of  her  own.  He  died  "Aug.  20,  1731, 
in  the  67th  year  of  his  age,'"  and  is  buried  in  the  grave  yard 
near  the  Meeting  House  in  the  East  Parish. 

In  his  Will,  a  most  elaborate  document,  occupying  four 
and  one-half  large  and  closely  written  pages  on  the  records, 
he  provides  that  in  certain  contingencies,  his  negro  slave 
Dinah  shall  be  sold  by  his  executors,  "and  all  she  is  sold  for 
shall  be  improved  by  my  executors  in  buying  of  Bibles,  and 
they  shall  give  them  equally  alike  unto  each  of  my  said 
wife's  and  my  grand-children."  Whether  this  pious  act  was 
performed  by  his  executors,  I  am  not  informed. 

He  left  a  large  estate,  which  he  divided  nearly  in  equal 
•  proportions  to  his  children  then  living.  His  wife  was  pro- 
vided for  in  a  marriage  contract  dated  27th  of  May,  1729. 
He  owned  his  homestead  on  the  north  side  of  the  road,  con- 
taining about  thirty  acres,  bought  of  Foxwell,  Nicholas 
Davis  and  Abraham  Blish ;    this  he  divided  into  five  lots, 


34         GENEALOGICAL    NOTES    OF   BARNSTABLE   FAMILIES. 

giving  to  Nathaniel  the  eastern,  containing  six  acres,  on 
which  his  son  had  built  a  two-story  single  house.  This  lot 
is  now  owned  by  Charles  Sturgis,  S.  B.  Pbinney  and  Joseph 
Basset.  The  next  lot  on  the  west,  to  his  daughter  Desire 
Green,  on  which  there  had  also  been  built  a  two-story  single 
house,  afterward  owned  by  Lot  Thacher.  The  next  lot  con- 
taining five  acres,  he  gave  by  deed  to  his  son  Solomon,  who 
sold  it  to  John  Sturgis,  jr.  These  two  lots  are  now  owned 
by  Joseph  Basset.  The  fourth  lot  with  the  mansion  house 
thereon,  he  gave  to  his  son  Judah,  and  the  west  lot  to  his 
son  John  by  deed.  These,  excepting  about  an  acre  at  the 
southwest,  are  now  owned  by  the  Barnstable  County  Agri- 
cultural Society.  The  Foxwell  land  on  the  south  side  of  the 
road  he  gave  to  Judah  with  the  barn,  orchard,  &c. 

His  farm  and  dwelling-house  at  Strawberry  Hill,  South 
Sea,  he  gave  1-8  to  Hannah,  1-8  to  Solomon,  1-4  to  Nathan- 
iel, 1-4  to  John,  and  1-4  to  Judah.  Solomon  to  have  the 
improvement  of  the  house  till  he  had  one  of  his  own. 

His  woodland  he  gave  in  equal  shares  to  Desire, 
Nathaniel,  John,  Solomon  and  Judah. 

His  meadows  he  divided  to  his  sons,  and  daughter 
Desire. 

His  clothing  he  divided  to  Nathaniel  1-4,  and  his  best  hat 
and  wig,  John  1-2  and  his  cane,  Solomon  1-4  and  law  books, 
and  to  Judah  1-4  and  his  horse  furniture. 

His  "household  wares,"  1-3  to  Desire,  and  1-3  to  Hannah 
and  I  presume  the  other  3d  to  his  wife.  His  one-sixth  of 
the  mill  at  Blushe's  Bridge  he  gave  to  Solomon ;  and  his 
great  Bible  to  Hannah.  He  gave  to  all  his  sons  and  grand- 
sons, liberty  to  use  his  two  landing-places,  one  at  the  mill 
and  the  other  at  Blushe's  Point.  To  his  grand-daughter 
Mary,  daughter  of  his  son  Isaac,  then  deceased,  20  shillings, 
and  if  Isaac's  widow  had  another  child,  then  £40,  provided 
either  lived  to  be  21  years  of  age. 

His  orchard  he  gave  to  Judah,  but  his  children,  not- 
withstanding, were  to  have  the  fruit  of  five  trees  each  for 
seven  years. 

Judah  had  the  largest  share  in  the  estate,  but  he  had 
duties  to  perform  that  the  others  had  not.  He  had  to  pro- 
vide among  other  things  "a  good  gentle  beast  to  go  in  my 
wife's  calach  to  any  part  of  Barnstable,  and  once  a  year  to 
Plymouth." 


GENEALOGICAL    NOTES    OF    BARNSTABLE    FAMILIES.  35 

Children  (if  John  Bacon,  Enq.,  and  his  wife  Mary  Haues. 

I.  Hannah,  born  June  7,  1687,  married  March  25,  1709, 
Ebenczer  Morton,  of  Plymouth,  and  had  a  family. 

II.  Desire,  born  March  15,  16>^8-9,  mMrried  March  25, 
1709,  (at  the  same  time  with  her  sister  Hannah) 
William  Green,  and  had  six  children.  She  died 
Dec.  29,  1730,  aged  41.  He  died  Jan'y  28,  1756, 
"aged  about  70." 

III.  Nathaniel,  born  Jan'y  16,  1691-2,  married  Aug.  19, 
1720,  Anna  Annabie,  who  died  soon,  leaving  no  issue. 
He  married  in  1730,  Thankful  Lumbert,  by  whom  he 
had  Lemuel,  Benjamin,  Jabez,  Hannah  and  Jane,  bap- 
tized April  26,  1741.  She  had  afterwards  Lurania, 
illegitimate,  baptized  Aug.  28,  1743.  She  married 
Sept.  7,  1744,  Augustine  Bearse,  and  had  other  chil- 
dren. She  died  Nov.,  1774,  aged  "about  70."  Jabez 
died  1757,  leaving  his  estate  to  his  brothers  and 
sisters. 

IV.  Patience,  born  June  15,  1694 ;  died  young. 

V.  John,  born  March  24,  1697,  mariied  IGlizabeth  Free- 
man, May  3,  1726.  The  records  says  he  died  "abroad 
May  24,  1745."  He  fell  overboard  at  sea  and  was 
drowned.*  He  owned  and  occupied  the  large  two- 
story  gambrel-roofed  dwelling,  on  the  rising  ground 
east  of  the  ancient  mansion-house  of  the  Bacons. 
He  was  called  a  saddler  in  1729 ;  but  I  have 
understood  he  was  a  sea  captain  at  the  time  of 
his  death.  He  had  ten  children,  Mary,  born 
March  24,  1725-6,  died  in  infancy ;  John,  born 
April  29,  1728;  he  died  a  young  man  leaving  no 
issue;  Barnabas,  born  April  17,  1729,  died  in 
infancy;  a  daughter,  Jan'y  3,  1730-1,  died  "in  half 
an  hour";  Elizabeth,  born  May  8,  1731,  married 
Oct.  6,  1755,  Thomas  Dimmock;  Isaac,  born  Dec. 
25,  1732,  married  Oct.  29,  1762,  Alice  Talor.  He 
died  June  26,  1819,  aged  87  years.  He  resided  in 
the  house  which  was  his  father's.      He  had  a  small 


♦The  circumstances  are  thus  told  :  When  he  fell  overboard  there  was 
only  one  other  man  on  deck — a  man  who  stammered,  but  a  good  sing- 
er. When  Capt.  Bacon  fell  overboard  he  attempted  to  call  the  crew, 
but  could  not  articulate  a  word.  One  said  to  him  "sing  it,"  and  he 
commenced  and  sung  "John  Bacon's  overboard.'' 


36  GENEALOGICAL   NOTES    OF    BARNSTABLE    FAMILIES. 

farm  which  he  cultivated,  raising  a  large  quantity  of 
onions  for  market.  He  was  master  of  a  packet  run- 
ning between  Boston  and  Barnstable  many  years,  and 
in  the  fall  carried  a  large  quantity  of  onions  to  the 
Boston  market.  He  was  tall,  over  six  feet,  and 
well  proportioned — a  man  that  was  never  vexed 
at  anything.  If  a  man  assailed  him,  he  would 
always  have  a  witty  reply,  and  thus  turn  the  tables 
on  his  opponent.  Many  anecdotes  are  related  of 
him.  In  the  article  on  the  Annable  family  a  char- 
acteristic story  is  told  of  him.  This  packet  was 
called  "the  Somerset,"  not  her  real  name — a  small 
craft — the  remains  of  which  lie  in  the  raft  dock  at 
Blushe's  Point.  One  time  he  sailed  from  Barnstable 
with  a  southwest  wind.  After  crossing  the  bar  his 
vessel  began  to  leak.  Unable  to  keep  her  free  by 
pumping,  he  hove  about  to  return,  and  continuing  to 
pump  she  was  soon  free.  It  did  not  take  Capt.  Isaac 
long  to  find  the  trouble.  A  wicked  rat  had  gnawed 
a  hole  through  the  planking  on  the  starboard  side, 
which  was  under  water  when  on  the  other  tack.  He 
made  a  plug,  let  himself  down  on  the  side  of  the  ves- 
sel, and  drove  it  in  the  rat-hole,  hove  about  and 
went  to  Boston. 

One  year  straw  to  bunch  early  ripe  onions  could 
not  be  procured,  and  the  farmers  cut  green  bull- 
rushes  for  the  purpose.  Purchasers  who  wanted 
onions  for  the  West  India  market,  objected  to  them. 
In  reply,  Capt.  Bacon  said:  "Gentlemen,  these  are 
what  are  called  'tarnity  onions';  they'll  keep  to  all 
eternity."  He  sold  his  onions,  but  the  purchasers 
had  to  throw  them  overboard  in  a  week  after. 

Capt.  Samuel  Hutchins,  no  relation  of  Capt.  Ba- 
con's, also  run  a  packet  to  Boston  and  carried  onions. 
At  one  time  he  sold  a  load  to  be  delivered  in  Salem. 
Capt.  Bacon  heard  of  it,  and  having  his  vessel  loaded, 
sailed  for  Salem,  and  called  on  the  merchant  to  buy. 
The  merchant  said  he  had  engaged  a  load  of  Capt. 
Huckins.  Capt.  Bacon  replied :  "He  is  my  son-in- 
law  and  these  are  the  very  onions." 

The  town  records  say  the  7th  child  of  John 
Bacon,  jr.,  was  named  Mark,  the  church  records  say 


GENEALOGICAL    NOTES    OF    BARNSTABLE    FAMILIES.  37 

Mercy,  born  Jan'y  27,  1734-5,  baptized  Feb.  2, 
1734-5.  She  died  unmarried  March  29,' 1765  ;  Sim- 
eon, born  July  26,  1736,  died  March  21,  1740; 
Desire,  born  May  20,  1738  ;  she  was  never  married, 
lived  in  the  house  with  her  brother  Isaac,  in  which 
she  had  a  life  estate.  She  died  March  2,  1811 ; 
Mary,  born  Aug.  23,  1740.  married  Joseph  Bavis.- 

VI.  Isaac,  born  March  29,  1699,  married  Hannah  Ste- 
vens. He  removed  to  Provincetown  where  he  died 
in  1730,  leaving  a  daughter  Mary,  and  a  posthumous 
child,  born  after  the  death  of  the  father. 

VII.  Solomon,  born  April  3,  1701,  married  July  16,  1726, 
Hannah  Capron,  a  Tiehobeth  name.  He  was  a  phy- 
sician and  resided  some  time  in  Barnstable.  Whether 
he  removed  or  died  young,  I  am  unable  to  say.  I 
have  a  memorandum  that  he  had  a  daughter  Sarah, 
who  died  April  11,  1775,  aged  20. 

VIII.  Judah,  born  Dec.  9,  1703.  I  do  not  find  that  he  left 
issue. 

Nathaniel  Bacon,  including  the  male  and  female  lines, 
is  the  ancestor  of  a  very  large  proportion  of  the  eminent 
men  of  Cape  Cod.  The  sketch  which  I  have  givein,  is  only 
an  outline.  There  are  an  abundance  of  materials  for  an  in- 
teresting, useful  and  popular  work,  and  I  hope  the  author  of 
the  Sears'  Memorial  will  deem  it  a  subject  worthy  of  his 
eloquent  pen. 

The  descendants  of  Jeremiah  Bacon  did  not  inherit  the 
business  talents  for  which  the  other  branches  of  the  Bacon 
family  were  distinguished.  Some  of  them  were  noted  for 
their  pleasant  humor  and  ready  wit.  The  saying  of  Nathan- 
iel, brother  of  the  second  Oris,  are  often  repeated  in  the 
neighborhood  where  he  resided.  He  married  a  grand- 
daughter  of  William  Blatchford,  and  his  wife  Elizabeth,  the 
reputed  witch.  He  was  a  poor  man,  had  a  large  family, 
and  died  at  the  Almshouse  in  Barnstable.  At  first  he  re- 
sided near  the  late  Mr.  Ebenezer  Sturgis,  afterwards  in  a 
small  house,  at  a  distance  from  neighbors.  On  a  cold, 
stormy  winter's  day,  when  the  roads  were  blocked  by  drifts 
of  snow,  he  sat  in  his  comfortable  room,  while  Mr.  Sturgis 
and  his  sons  were  out  watering  and  taking  care  of  their  large 
stock  of  cattle.  Nathaniel  remai-ked  :  "I  am  thankful  that 
I  do  not  own  that  stock  of  cattle ;  Sally  and  I  have  been 


38  GENEALOGICAL    NOTES    OF    BARNSTABLE    FAMILIES. 

sitting  at  ease  by  a  cheerful,  blazing  fire,   they  have  been 
toiling  all  day,  exposed  to  the  cold,  driving  storm. 

When  in  the  eastern  country  he  boastingly  said, 
'Squire  Bacon  and  I  keep  more  cows  than  any  other  two 
men  in  Barnstable";  Nathaniel  had  one;  'Squire  Bacon 
twenty. 

He  tooli  up  a  bar  of  iron  in  a  blaclismith's  shop  and 
said,  "I  can  bite  an  inch  off  of  this  bar,"  at  the  same  time 
showing  a  good  set  of  teeth.  A  l)et  on  the  performance  of 
the  feat  was  accepted.  Putting  the  iron  near  his  open 
mouth,  he  brouglit  his  teeth  quiclily  together.  "There, 
gentlemen,"  said  he,  "I  have  bitten  more 'than  an  inch 
off." 

Of  his  wife  he  related  the  following  anecdote :  One 
stormy  winter  morning,  when  he  had  no  wood  to  kindle  a 
fire,  no  provisions  in  his  house,  and  six  small  children 
clamoring  for  breakfast,  his  wife  got  up,  scraped  a  little 
frost  from  a  window,  and  looking  out  exclaimed  in  piteous 
tones,  -'Oh,  what  would  I  give  for  one  pipe  of  tobacco." 

Samuel  Bacon,  of  Barnstable,  took  the  oath  of  fidelity 
in  1657.  How  long  he  had  then  been  of  Barnstable  does 
not  appear.  In  1(562,  he  had  a  grant  of  "six  acres  of  land 
more  or  less,  sixty  poles  north  and  south,  and  18  poles 
wide,"  (less  than  5  acres)  at  the  head  of  Richard  Foxwell's 
land,  bounded  northerly  thereby,  east  by  the  land  of  James 
Cobb,  south  by  the  commons,  and  west  by  Xathaniel  Bacon. 
He  married  9th  of  May,  1669,  Martha  Foxwell,  and  had 

I.     Samuel,  born  March  9,  1669-70.'^ 
n.  Martha,  born  Jan'y,  1671. 

This  family  disappeared  early.  Sifcu<sl  is  supposed  to 
have  been  a  brother  of  Nathaniel  and  "M^jtbeth .  but  I  find 
no  positive  evidence  that  such  was  tlie  fEt 


BACHILER 


REV.    STEPHEN    BACHILER. 

This  eccentric  and  learned  divine  has  the  honor  of  being 
the  first  white  man  who  settled  within  the  present  limitn  of 
the  town  of  Barnstable.  He  lived  a  hundred  years,  and  his 
long  life  was  checkered  with  exciting  incidents  on  which  the 
imaginative  pen  of  the  novelist  would  delight  to  dwell.  He 
was  born  in  England  in  1561,  received  orders  in  the  estab- 
lished church,  was  settled  in  the  ministry,  and  ejected  by 
the  bishops  for  non-conformity,  at  whose  hands  Gov.  Winth- 
rop  says  he  had  suffered  much.  He  married  early  in  life, 
and  four  of  his  sons  and  three  daughters  are  named  :  John 
Wing,  afterwards  of  Sandwich,  married  his  daughter  Debo- 
rah, probably  before  his  removal  to  Holland,  where  he  re- 
sided several  years.  During  his  residence  in  that  country, 
Christopher  Hussey,  the  ancestor  of  the  Nantucket  family  of 
that  name,  became  enamored  with  his  daughter  Theodate, 
and  sought  her  hand  in  marriage  ;  but  Mr.  Bachiler  refused 
assent,  without  the  bridegroom  would  agree  to  remove  to 
New  England.  Hussey  assented  to  the  condition  imposed, 
and  took,  probably  in  1629,  Theodate  to  wife.  Mr.  Bach- 
iler, intending  to  emigrate  to  New  England,  soon  after  re- 
turned to  London..  Mr.  Lewis  states  that  his  church  in 
Holland  consisted  of  six  members  beside  himself,  and  that 
these  returned  with  him  to  London.  No  names  are  given  ; 
but  it  is  uniformly  stated  that  they  were  his  friends,  or  mem- 
bers of  his  own  family.  If  so,  the  seven  probably  were  Mr. 
Bachiler  and  his  wife,  John  Wing  and  his  wife  Deborah, 
John  Sanborn  and  his  wife,  a  daughter  of  Mr.  Bachiler,  and 
Theodate  Hussey.  Sanborn's  wife  died  in  England,  and  it 
does  not  appear  that  he  came  over.  His  sons  John.  William 
and  Stephen  came  over  with  their  grandfather  and  settled  in 
Hampton.  Christopher  Hussey  and  his  mother,  the  widow- 
Mary  Hussey,  were  afterwards  members  of  his  church,  and 


40  GENEALOGICAL    NOTES    OF    BARNSTABLE    FAMILIES. 

followed  their  pastor  in  all  his  wanderings.  Mr.  Savage, 
whose  authority  is  not  to  be  rejected  on  light  or  inconclu- 
sive testimony,  thinks  the  Husseys  came  over  in  the  same 
ship  with  ?tlr.  Bachiler.  The  court  records,  and  the  decis- 
ions of  the  ecclesiastical  councils  favor  his  supposition,  and 
it  will  be  hard  to  show  how  the  ubiquitous  number  of  six 
members  is  made  up,  if  he  is  not  right. 

On  the  9th  of  March,  1632,  Mr.  Bachiler  and  his  com- 
pany embarked  at  London  in  the  ship  \\'illiam  and  Francis, 
Capt.  Thomas,  and  arrived  in  Boston  Thursday,  June  5, 
1632,  after  a  tedious  passage  of  88  days,  and  on  the  day 
next  after  liis  arrival  went  to  Lynn. 

Mr.  Lewis*  states  that  "In  Mr.  Bachiler's  church  were 
six  persons  who  had  belonged  to  a  church  with  him  in  Eng- 
land;  and  of  these  he  constituted  a  church  at  Lynn,  to 
which  he  admitted  such  as  desired  to  become  members,  and 
commenced  the  exercise  of  his  public  ministrations  on  Sun- 
day, the  8th  of  June,  without  installation."  Four  months 
after  a  complaint  was  made  of  some  irregularities  in  his  con- 
duct.  He  was  arraigned  before  the  court  at  Boston,  Oct. 
3,  when  the  following  order  was  passed:  "Mr.  Bachiler  is 
required  to  forbeare  exercising  his  gifts  as  a  pastor  or  teacher 
pul)liqely  in  our  Pattent,  unlesse  it  be  to  those  he  brought 
with  him,  for  his  contempt  of  authority,  and  until  some  scan- 
dies  be  removed."  Mr.  Bachiler,  however,  succeeded  in 
regaining  the  esteem  of  the  people,  and  the  court  on  the  4th 
of  March,  1633,  removed  their  injunction  against  him.  In 
1635,  some  of  the  members  became  dissatisfied  with  the 
conduct  of  their  pastor,  "and  doubting  whether  they  were 
regularly  organized  as  a  church,"  withdrew  from  the  com- 
munion. A  council  of  ministers  was  held  on  the  15th  of 
March,  and  after  deliberating  three  days,  decided  ."that 
although  the  church  had  not  lieen  properly  instituted,  yet 
after-consent  and  practice  of  a  church-state  had  supplied  that 
defect.  So  all  were  reconciled,"  says  the  record.  Mr. 
Bachiler,  however,  perceiving  no  prospect  of  terminating 
the  difficulties,  requested  a  dismission  for  himself  and  the 
six  who  had  accompanied  him  from  England,  which  was 
granted,  on  the  supposition  that  he  intended  to  remove  fi-om 


*The  dates  given  by  the  aiithoi-  of  the  history  of  Lynn  are  not  always 
reliable.  He  states  that  Hussuy  settled  in  Lynn  in  1630.  The  evidence 
favors  the  supposition  that  he  did  not  come  over  till  1632. 


GENEALOGICAL    NOTES    OF    BARNSTABLE    FAMILIES.  41 

Lynn.  Instead  of  this,  he  remained  and  formed  another 
church  of  his  friends,  that  is  of  those  who  came  over  with 
him. 

This  conduct  gave  great  offence  to  "the  most  and  chief 
of  the  town"  of  Lynn,  and  they  entered  a  complaint  against 
Mr.  Bachiler  to  the  assistants  who  forbade  him  to  proceed 
in  the  organization  of  his  church  until  the  subject  was  con- 
sidered by  other  ministers.  Still  he  goes  on.  The  magis- 
trates require  his  attendance  before  them.  He  refuses  to 
obey;  they  send  the  marshall  who  brought  him  into  their 
presence.  He  submits  and  agrees  to  leave  the  town  in  three 
months. 

Mr.  Bachiler  was  admitted  a  freeman  May  6,  1635,  and 
removed  from  Lynn  to  Ipswich  in  Feb.  163H,  where  he  re- 
ceived a  grant  of  fifty  acres  of  land,  and  had  the  prospect 
of  a  settlement ;  but  some  difiiculty  arose  and  he  left  the 
place. 

Gov.  Withrop  in  the  first  volume  of  his  history,  under 
the  date  of  March  30,  1(338,  has  the  following  passage  : 

"Another  plantation  was  now  in  hand  at  Mattakeese 
["MOW  Yarmouth," \s  written  on  the  marginjsix  miles  beyond 
Sandwich.  The  undertaker  of  this  was  one  Mr.  Batcheller, 
late  pastor  at  Saugus,  (since  called  Lynn)  being  about  76 
years  of  age ;  yet  he  walked  thither  on  foot  in  a  very  hard 
season." 

"He  and  his  company,  being  all  poor  men,  finding  the 
difiiculty,  gave  it  over  and  others  undertook  it." 

Mr.  Bachiler  settled  in  the  easterly  part  of  Mattakeese, 
at  a  place  which  is  known  to  this  day  as  "OW  Town."  The 
names  of  his  associates  are  not  given  ;  probably  the  com- 
pany consisted  of  persons  who  belonged  to,  or  were  con- 
nected by  marriage,  with  the  family  of  Mr.  Bachiler,  namely, 
sons,  sons-in-law  and  grand-sons,  with  their  families.* 

Mr .  Bachiler  probably  obtained  the  consent  of  Mr. 
Collicut,  to  whom  the  lands  at  Mattakeese  had  been  granted, 
before  he  undertook  to  establish  a  plantation ;  for  without 

*There  is  a  remarkable  parallelism  between  the  character  of  Mr. 
Bachiler  and  thatof  Mr.  Wm.  Nickerson,  the  ancestorof  the  family  of 
that  name.  Both  were,  or  assumed  to  be,  i-eligious  men;  bi>th  were 
stiff-necked  and  wayward;  both  were  often  involved  in  difHculties; 
both  were  undertakers  of  uew  plantations,  and  in  both  their  families, 
the  same  clannish  feeling  prevailed.  Bachiler  had  more  wives  and 
Nickerson  more  law  suits;  the  former  "undertook"  several  planta- 
tions; the  latter  only  or.e;  otherwise  their  histories  were  parallel. 


42  GENEALOGICAL    NOTES    OF    BARNSTABLE    FAMILIES. 

such  consent  he  would  have  been  a  trespasser  and  liable  to 
ejectment.  The  terms  of  the  grant  cannot  be  quoted  ;  but 
it  does  not  thence  follow  that  no  permit  was  given  or  grunt 
made.  VVe  know  by  the  Old  Colony  records  that  in  ll)37 
or  1638,  certain  lands  in  Barnstable  were  run  out  into  house 
and  other  lots  ;  that  these  lands  were  laid  out  by  or  under 
the  authority  of  Mr.  Richard  Collicut  of  Dorchester.  He 
was  a  surveyor,  but  there  is  no  evidence  that  he  was  ever  in 
Barnstable.  The  Plymouth  records  tell  us  the  thing  was 
done ;  but  they  do  not  tell  us  who  did  it.  The  passage 
quoted  from  (iov.  VVinthrop  clearly  and  distinctly  states 
that  at,  (jr  about  the  time,  the  Plymouth  records  say  the 
lands  were  run  out,  Mr.  Eachiler  and  his  company  under- 
took to  form  a  plantation  at  Mattakeese.  The  very  lirst 
thing  that  he  and  his  company  did,  undoubtedly,  was  to  do 
what  all  such  companies  did  in  those  times  tirst  do  ;  that  is 
run  out  house  lots  for  each  of  their  party,  and  farming  lands 
and  meadows  to  be  held  by  each  in  severalty.  Not  to  pre- 
sume this,  is  to  presume  that  Mr.  Eachiler  and  his  company 
were  not  only  wanting  in  common  prudence,  but  wanting  in 
common  sense.  The  tirst  settlers  in  new  countries 
never  failed  to  appropriate  a  sufficiency  of  laud  to  them- 
selves, and  in  order  to  make  such  appropriation,  they  must 
tirst  run  them  out  and  put  up  boundaries. 

That  there  were  some  among  his  company  that  could 
survey  lands,  scarce  admits  of  doubt.  Mr.  Bachilcr,  as  Mr. 
Prince  informs  us,  was  a  "man  of  learning  and  ingenuity, 
and  wrote  a  tine  and  curious  hand,"  and  he  could  undoubt- 
edly run  lines  and  draw  plans.  His  son  John  Wing,  one  of 
the  company,  was  a  man  of  skill  and  energy — and  he  proba- 
bly had  with  him  his  sons  Daniel,  Stephen  and  John,  three 
stout  youths,  if  not  all  men  grown — one  of  whom  in  after- 
times  was  a  surveyor  of  lands. 

That  Mr.  Bachiler's  party  were  capable  of  doino-  all 
that  the  Colony  records  say  was  done,  does  not  admit  of 
doubt,  and  in  the  absence  of  all  proof  to  the  contrary,  it  is 
to  be  presumed  that  they  did  do  it. 

Sandwich  was  settled  in  1637,  mostly  by  people  from 
Lynn — old  neighbors  and  acquaintances  of  Mr.  Bachiler's 
company — and  it  is  probable,  that  being  the  nearest  settle- 
ment to  Mattakeese,  that  they  left  their  women  and  little 
ones  there  till  shelter  could  be  procured  for  them  in  the  new 
settlement. 


GENEALOGICAL    NOTES    OF    BARNSTABLE    FAMILIES.  43 

The  tir^t  house  built  within  the  present  Iionnds  of  Yar- 
mouth (of  which  there  is  a  record),  is  that  of  Mr.  Stephen 
Hopkins,  aftei  wards  owned  b}'  his  son  Gyles,  and  by  him 
sohl  to  Andrew  Hallet,  jr.  This  was  in  the  summer  of  1()38, 
and  was  built  as  a  temporary  residence  for  his  servants  who 
had  the  care  of  cattle  sent  from  Plymouth  to  be  wintered  at 
Mattakeese.  \\'hether  or  not  cattle  had  been  sent  from 
Plymouth  in  previous  years  does  not  appear;  if  so,  then 
Mr.  Bachiler  found  whites  within  a  mile  of  the  place  he  select- 
ed for  settlement.  It  was  also  in  the  inunediate  vicinity  of 
"lyanough's  town,"  a  place  not  inhabited  by  the  Indians  in 
the  winter,  and  their  deserted  wigwams  perhaps  afforded 
them  a  temporary  shelter. 

Mr.  Bachiler  and  his  company  were  all  poor  men,  illy 
provided  with  the  means  of  establishing  a  plantation,  even 
in  the  mild  season  of  the  year,  and  it  is  hardly  possible  that 
they  could  have  sustained  themselves  during  the  intensely 
cold  winter  of  1637,  without  some  kindly  herdsmen,  or 
some  friendly  Indians  gave  them  shelter  while  they  were 
preparing  their  rude  habitations. 

Early  in  the  spring  of  1638,  Mr.  Bachiler,  "finding 
the  difficulties  great,"  abandoned  his  plantation  at  Matta- 
keese. John  Wing  and  his  family  stopped  in  Sandwich. 
Mr.  Bachiler  and  Christopher  Hussey  went  to  Newbury, 
aud  on  the  6th  of  September  the  Massachusetts  Legislature 
gave  them  and  others  leave  to  begin  a  plantation  at  Hamp- 
ton, of  which  he  became  the  minister.  The  next  year,  ac- 
cording to  Mr.  Felt,  he  was  excommunicated  for  unchastity, 
though  Gov.  Winthrop  says  he  was  then  "about  eighty 
years  of  age,  and  had  a  lusty,  comely  woman  to  wife  ."  In 
November,  1641,  he  was  restored  to  the  church,  but  not  to 
his  oflice.  About  this  time  his  house  in  Hampton  took  fire 
and  was  consumed  with  nearly  all  his  property. 

In  1644,  the  people  of  Exeter  invited  him  to  settle 
there;  but  the  court  forbid  his  settlement.  In  1647,  he 
was  at  Portsmouth,  now  Portland,  where  in  1650,  he  being 
then  89  years  old,  his  second  wife  Helena  being  dead,  he 
married  his  third  wife  Mary,  without  publishing  his  inten- 
tion of  marriage  according  to  law,  for  which  he  was  fined 
ten  pounds,  half  of  which  was  afterwards  remitted. 

With  his  third  wife  he  lived  only  a  few  months.  She 
went  to  Kittery,  and,  according  to  the  York  records,  on  the 
15th  of  October,  1651,  was  presented  for  committing  adnl- 


44  GENEALOGICAL    NOTES    OF    BARNSTABLE    FAMILIES. 

tery  with  George  Rogers,  and  sentenced  "to  receive  forty 
stripes  save  one,  at  the  first  town  meeting  held  at  Kittery 
six  weeks  after  her  delivery,  and  be  branded  with  the  letter 
A."  In  October,  1656,  she  petitioned  for  a  divorce  from 
Mr.  Bachiler,  because  he  had  five  years  before  "transported 
himself  to  Ould  England,  and  betaken  himself  to  another 
wife,"  and  because  she  desired  "disposing  herselfe  in  the 
way  of  marriage."  Whether  or  not  she  obtained  a  divorce 
does  not  appear  on  record. 

Mr.  Bachiler,  atter  his  return  to  England,  married  a 
fourth  wife,  his  third  being  then  living.  At  last  he  died  in 
the  year  1660,  at  Hackney,  near  Loudon,  in  the  one  hun- 
dreth  year  of  his  age.* 

No  record  of  his  family  is  preserved  .  Four  sons  and 
three  daughters  are  named.  Henry,  settled  at  Reading ; 
Nathaniel,  born  about  1611,  "a  chip  of  the  old  block,"  set- 
tled at  Hampton,  and  Francis  and  Stephen,  both  remained 
in  London,  the  latter  said  to  have  been  livinsr  in  1685.  Of 
his  daughters,  one  as  before  stated,  married  John  Sanborn, 
and  died  before  1632.  Theodate,  married  Christopher 
Hussey,  and  died  in  Hampton  in  1649.  Deborah  married 
John  Wing  of  Sandwich.  On  the  Yarmouth  town  records  I 
find  the  following  entry  :  "Old  Goody  Wing  desesed  the 
last  of  January,  '91  and  '92,"  that  it  Jan'y  31,  1692,  N.  S. 
This  record  probably  refers  to  Deborah,  widow  of  the  first 
John  Wing.  Her  son  John  resided  at  Sawtucket  (now 
Brewster),  then  within  the  corporate  jurisdiction  of  Yar- 
mouth, and  his  aged  mother  probably  resided  with  him. 
There  is  no  one  beside  to  whom  the  record  will  apply.  Her 
age  is  not  given,  but  an  approximation  to  it  may  be  made. 
Her  son  Daniel  of  Sandwich,  if  he  had  then  been  living, 
would  have  been  70  years  of  age,  consequently  the  mother 
must  have  been  about  90  years  of  age  at  her  death 


*In  preparing  this  article,  I  have  consulted  Gov.  Winthrop's  Histo- 
ry, thK  Ph  month  and  Mnssachnetts  Records,  Felt's,  Ecclesiastical  His- 
tory, Savage's  Genealogical  Dictionary,  and  Lewis's  History  of  Lynn; 
the  latter  gives  the  fullest  sketch  of  the  life  of  Mr.  Bachiler  yet  pub- 
lished. The  reading  of  the  extraats  from  the  records,  given  by  Mr. 
Lewis,  leave  the  impression  on  the  mind  that  Mr.  Bachiler  was  not 
suoli  a  man  as  a  minister  of  the  gospel  should  be,  A  literary  friend, 
who  for  .several  years  has  behn  collecting  materials  for  a  memoir  of 
Mr.  Bachiler,  says  he  is  not  deserving  of  the  odium  which  has  been 
heaped  on  his  character. 


BASSET. 


WILLIAM    BASSET. 

William  Basset,  one  of  the  forefathers,  came  over  in 
the  ship  Fortune  in  1621 ;  settled  first  in  Plymouth,  then  in 
Duxhury,  and  finally  in  Bridgewater — of  which  town  he  was 
an  original  proprietor.  He  died  there  in  1667.  He  was 
comparatively  wealthy,  being  a  large  land-holder,  only  four 
in  Plymouth  paying  a  higher  tax  in  the  year  1633.  He  had 
a  large  library,  from  which  it  is  to  be  inferred  that  he  was 
an  educated  man.  In  1648,  he  was  fined  five  shillings  for 
neglecting  "to  mend  guns  in  seasonable  times" — an  offence 
of  not  a  very  heinious  character — but  it  shows  that  he  was 
a  mechanic  as  well  as  a  planter.  Many  of  his  descendants 
have  been  large  land-holders,  and  even  to  this  day  a  Basset 
who  has  not  a  good  landed  estate,  thinks  that  he  is  misera- 
bly poor. 

His  name  is  on  the  earliest  list  of  freemen,  made  in 
1633  ;  he  was  a  volunteer  in  the  company  raised  in  1637,  to 
assist  Massachusetts  and  Connecticut  in  the  Pequod  war ;  a 
member  of  the  committee  of  the  town  of  Duxbury  to  lay  out 
bounds,  and  to  decide  on  the  fitness  of  persons  applying  to 
become  residents,  and  was  representative  to  the  Old  Colony 
Court  six  years.  His  son  William  settled  in  Sandwich ; 
was  there  in  1651,  and  is  the  ancestor  of  the  families  of  that 
name  in  that  town,  and  of  some  of  the  families  in  Barnsta- 
ble and  Dennis.  His  son,  Col.  William  Basset,  was  mar- 
shall  of  Plymouth  Colony  at  the  time  of  the  union  with 
Massachusetts,  and  in  1710,  one  of  the  Judges  of  the  Infe- 
rior Court,  and  afterwards  Eegister  of  Probate.  He  was  an 
excellent  penman,  and  wrote  a  very  small,  yet  distinct  and 
beautiful  hand,  easily  read.  The  records  show  that  he  was 
a  careful  and  correct  man.  He  was  the  most  distinguished 
of  any  of  the  name  in  Massachusetts.     He  died  in  Sand- 


46  GENEALOGICAL    NOTES    OF    BARNSTABLE    FAMILIES. 

wich,  Sept.  29,  1721,  in  the  65th  year  of  his  age. 

Elisha  Basset,  a  grandson  of  Col.  Basset,  removed  to 
Dennis,  then  a  part  of  Yarmouth.  He  was  a  captain  in  the 
Provincial  militia ;  had  three  commissions,  each  signed  by  a 
different  Royal  Governor.  At  the  commencement  of  the 
lievolution  he  was  a  zealous  whig  and  surrendered  his  com- 
mission, and  was  offered  a  captain's  commission  in  the  Con- 
tinental Army ;  but  the  circumstances  of  his  family  obliged 
him  to  decline  accepting  it.  He  was  the  representative  from 
Yarmouth  at  the  Provincial  Congress,  as  it  was  called,  which 
assembled  at  Cambridge  and  Watertown  in  the  years  1774 
and  75. 

Nathaniel  Basset,  son  of  the  tirst  William,  is  the  ances- 
tor of  the  Yarmouth,  Chatham  and  Hyannis,  and  some  of  the 
West  Barnstable  families  of  the  name.  On  the  2d  of  March, 
1651-2,  "Nathaniell  Basset  and  Joseph  Prior,  for  disturb- 
ing the  church  of  'Duxburrou,'  on  the  Lord's  day,  were 
sentenced  each  of  them  to  pay  twenty  shillings  fine,  or  the 
next  towne  meeting  or  training  day  both  of  them  to  bee 
bound  unto  a  post  for  the  space  of  two  hours,  in  some  public 
place,  with  a  paper  on  their  heads  on  which  theire  capital 
crime  shall  be  written  perspecusly,  soe  as  may  bee  read." 
Whether  they  paid  the  fines  imposed,  or  suffered  the  novel 
mode  of  punishment  to  which  they  were  sentenced,  does  not 
appear. 

Nathaniel  settled  first  in  Marshfield,  but  removed  to 
Yarmouth  where  he  was  an  inhabitant  in  1664,.  and  perhaps 
earlier.  He  resided  near  the  first  meeting-house,  and  his 
descendants  still  enjoy  his  lands.  Notwithstandino-  the  trifl- 
ing irregularity  in  his  conduct  when  a  young  man  at  Dux- 
bury,  he  was  a  very  worthy  and  respectable  citizen,  had  a 
large  family — ten  of  whom  lived  to  mature  age.  He  died 
January  16,  1709-10,  aged  82. 

No  record  of  the  family  of  the  first  William  Basset  has 
been  preserved.  It  appears  that  he  was  married  but  had  no 
children  at  the  division  of  the  land  in  1623  ;  but  at  the  divis- 
ion of  the  cattle  in  1627,  he  had  two,  William  and  EHzabeth. 
His  wife  was  named  Elizabeth,  and  it  is  stated  by  Jndo-e 
Mitchell  that  she  was   probably  a  Tilden.*     His  children, 


His  wife  Mary  presented  the  inventory  of  his  estate.  May  13  1667 
and  took  the  oath  required.  The  names  of  Mary  and  Elizabeth  were 
formerly  considered  synonymous,  and  it  may  be  that  Mary  was  not  his 
second  wife.  j  ^^  uio 


GENEALOGICAL    NOTES    OF    BARNSTABLE    EAMILIES.  47 

horn  in  Plymouth  and  Duxbury,  were 

I.  William,  born  1624,  removed  to  Sandwich,  was  called 
Mr.,  married  Mary,  daughter  of  Hugh  Burt  of  Lynn, 
and  died  in  1670,  leaving  a  large  estate.  Had  daughter 
Mary  born  21st  November,  1654;  William,  2d,  1656,  and 
probably  others.  Col.  William,  3d,  married  Rachel,  had 
Mary,  Oct.  20,  1676;  Nathan,  1677;  Eachel,  Oct.  25, 
1679  ;  William,  Jonathan,  and  another  daughter.  Wil- 
liam married  Abigail,  daughter  of  Elisha  Bourne,  and 
had  Elisha,  who  removed  to  Yarmouth,  and  other  chil- 
dren. Nathan  married  Mary  Huckins,  1690,  removed  to 
Chilmark  and  had  eleven  children.  His  son  Nathan 
graduated  at  Harvard  in  1719,  and  was  afterwards  set- 
tled in  Charleston,  8.  C.  An  interesting  account  of  the 
Bassets  of  Martha's  Vineyard  has  recently  been  pub- 
lished by  R.  L.  Pease,  Esq.  Mary,  the  wife  of  Nathan, 
was  a  daughter  of  John  Huckins  of  Barnstable,  and 
was  brought  up  in  the  family  of  her  grandfather.  Elder 
John  Chipman.  The  account  of  her  religious  expe- 
rience, written  \>y  herself,  is  a  narrative  of  thrilling  in- 
terest.    Jonathan  married  Mary ,  and  died  Dec. 

13,  1683,  leaving,  I  think,  one  son,  Jonathan,  who  is 
named  in  his  grandfather's  will. 

H.  Elizabeth,  born  about  1626,  married  Thomas  Burgess, 
jr.,  of  Sandwich,  8th  Nov.  1648,  was  divorced  June 
10,  1661.  He  removed  to  Rhode  Island,  and  was  a 
resident  at  Newport  in  1671,  having  a  wife  Lydia. 

HI.  Nathaniel,  born  1628,  married  for  his  first  wife  a 
daughter  of  John  Joyce  [Mary  or  Dorcas]  of  Yar- 
mouth. His  wife  Hannah,  who  died  in  1709,  was  prob- 
ably a  second  wife.  The  record  of  his  family  is  lost. 
His  will,  dated  Jan'ry  10,  1709-10,  six  days  before  his 
death,  is  a  carefully  drawn  instrument,  witnessed  by 
Rev.  Daniel  Greenleaf,  Experience  Rider,  and  his 
nephew  Col.  William  Basset,  and  furnishes  much  gen- 
ealogical information.  He  names  his  nine  children  then 
living,  says  he  is  "aged  and  under  much  decay  of 
body,"  being  then  82  years  of  age.  To  his  son  Wil- 
liam he  gave  meadow  and  upland,  which  was  John 
Joyce's  drying  ground,  bought  of  Mr.  Thomas  Wally, 
and  meadow  bought  of  Mr.  Thornton.  He  names  the 
eldest  son  of  Thomas  Mulford  of  Truro,  who  married 
his  daughter  Mary  ;  the  eldest  son  of  his  son  Nathan- 


48  GENEALOGICAL    NOTES    OF    BARNSTABLE    FAMILIES. 

iel;  the  eldest  sou  of  his  son  Joseph;  to  Nathaniel  he 
gave  property  that  was  his  Grandmother  Joyce's,  and 
his  lands  in  Middleboro'.  He  names  his  daughter-iu-law 
Joannah,  perhaps  wife  of  Nathaniel,  who  removed  to 
Windham,  Conn.,  and  his  daughter  Euth  Basset.  He 
gives  certain  property  unto  six  of  his  children,  Mary 
Mulford,  Samuel  Basset,  Hannah  Covell,  Joseph  Bas- 
set, Sarah  Nickerson  and  Nathan  Basset,  Mr.  Thomas 
Mulford  of  Truro,  and  his  son  Joseph  of  Yarmouth, 
Executors.  Estate  appraised  at  £228,11.  One  of  the 
oldest  monuments  in  the  Yarmouth  grave-yard  is  that 
of  Dorcas  Basset,  who  died  June  9,  1707,  aged  31. 
She  was  probably  a  daughter  of  Nathaniel.  Though 
William  is  first  named  in  the  will,  he  was  probably  the 
youngest  son. 
IV.  Sarah,  born  about  1630,  married  in  1648,  Peregrine 
\^'hite  of  Marshfield,  the  first  born  of  the  English  at 
Cape  Cod  Harbor,  Nov.  1620.  Her  third  son  Jona- 
than, born  June  4,  1658,  is  the  ancestor  of  the  White 
families  in  Yarmouth. 

His  other  children  named  aie  Euth,  who  married  John 
Sprague,  1655;  Jane;  Joseph,  who  settled  with  his  father 
in  Bridgewater,  married  Martha  Hobart,  1677,  and  died 
1712.  He  had  Joseph,  William,  Elnathan,  Jeremiah,  Lydia, 
Euth  and  Elizabeth.  The  posterity  of  Joseph  are  numer- 
ous. 

William,  son  of  Nathaniel,  married  Feb.  23,  1710, 
Martha  Godfrey,  and  had  Isaac,  July  17,  1711 ;  Moses, 
Nov.  4,  1713  ;  Fear,  April  12,  1716,  who  married  Joseph 
Eogers  of  Harwich,  Oct.  19,  1737.  His  second  wife  was 
Sarah  Jenkins  of  Barnstable,  to  whom  he  was  married 
Jan'y  30,  1722-3.  He  and  his  wife  Sarah  were  dismissed 
from  the  Yarmouth  to  the  Barnstable  Church,  Aug.  1727. 
His  children  recorded  as  born  in  Barnstable  are  Samuel, 
Aug.  21,  1724;  Experience,  May  5,  1727;  Mary,  May  18, 
1729,  and  Nathaniel,  Sept.  4,  1732.  Only  the  two  last 
were  baptized  in  Barnstable.  He  had  probably  another  son, 
William,  born  in  Yarmouth,  who  married  May  8,  1741, 
Margaret  Merryfield.  The  Bassets  of  West  Barnstable  are 
descendants  of  William,  son  of  Nathaniel,  and  of  Samuel  of 
Yarmouth,  a  great-grandson  of  Col.  William  of  Sandwich. 
This  Samuel  married  June  15,  1743,  Susannah  Lumbard  of 


GENEALOGICAL    NOTES    OF    BARNSTABLE    FAMILIES.  49 

Truro,  and  had  born  in  Barnstable,  Xehemiah,  Sept.  22, 
1743;  Ebenezer,  Dec.  27,  1744,  and  probably  others. 
There  was  also  a  Nathan  Basset,  jr.,  called  of  Middleboro', 
who  settled  at  West  Barnstable  and  married  Oct.  25,  1739, 
Thankful  Fuller,  and  had  born  in  Barnstable,  Nathan,  Dec. 
30,  1750,  and  Cornelius,  Jan'y  20,  1753,  and  perhaps 
others. 

Joseph,  son  of  Nathaniel,  is  the  ancestor  of  the  Yai"- 
mouth  and  Hyannis  families.  He  married  Feb.  27,  1706-7, 
Susannah  Howes,  she  died  Feb.  27,  1718-19,  and  he  mar- 
ried for  his  second  wife  Thankful  Hallet,  Dec.  3,  1719. 
His  childre>i  were  Sarah,  born  Dec.  10,  1707,  died  July  3, 
1736;  Joseph,  June  15,  1709;  Daniel,  Nov.  17,  1710; 
Joshua,  Sept.  13,  1712;  Susannah,  Jan.  22,  1714-15,  mar- 
ried JohnHawes,  Jan'y  2,  1732;  Samuel,  Oct.  23,  1716,  a 
whaleman  died  unmarried,  1740 ;  John,  Dec.  14,  1720 ; 
Ebenezer,  July  9,  1722,  died  Aug.  16, 1723  ;  Thankful,  mai-- 
ried  1750,  Joshua  Brimhall  of  Hingham,  and  Nathan,  Oct. 
17,  1725. 

Mrs.  Thankful  Basset  died  Aug.  12,  1736,  and  Mr. 
Joseph  Basset,  Jan'y  6,  1749-50. 

Joseph  Basset,  son  of  Joseph,  married  Feb.  25,  1737, 
Mary  Whelden.  He  died  Sept.  5,  1833,  aged  94.  He  had 
1st,  Joseph,  Dec.  23,  1738,  who  inherited  the  paternal  es- 
tate ;  married  three  times.  One  of  his  wives  was  a  daugh- 
ter of  Capt.  John  Bearse,  who  came  over  as  a  revenue  offi- 
cer before  the  lievolution.  He  bought  the  Kev.  Mr.  Smith's 
house,  in  Yarmouth,  where  Joseph  Basset  and  Elisha  Doane 
afterwards  kept  a  public  house.  He  had  two  children  who 
lived  to  mature  age,  Susannah,  who  married  the  late  Elisha 
Doane,  Esq.,  and  Joseph,  now  living,  unmarried,  on  the 
Basset  farm.  2d,  Mary,  Oct.  20,  1744,  married  Edward 
Sturgis,  jr.,  Jan'y  28,  1767.  3d,  Jonathan,  Nov.  10,  1746, 
and  Samuel,  Dec.  4,  1748,  both  of  whom  removed  to  Hal- 
lowell,  Maine. 

Daniel  Basset,  son  of  Joseph,  married  July  1,  1735, 
Elizabeth,  daughter  of  Seth  Crowell,  and  had  one  son, 
Daniel,  born  Aug^  7,  1736.  The  father  died  soon  after  and 
his  widow  married  in  1742,  Hezekiah  Marchant,  and  re- 
moved to  Hyannis.  Daniel,  the  grandfather  of  the  present 
Hon.  Zenas  D.  Basset,  resided  at  Hyannis,  and  is  the  an- 
cestor of  the  Bassets  in  that  vicinity.     He  married  a  daugh- 


50  GENEALOGICAL    NOTES    OF    BARNSTABLE    FAMILIES. 

ter  of  Jabez  Bearae,  and  had  sons  Joseph,  Daniel  and  Seth. 
He  was  a  Lieutenant  in  the  Continental  Army.  Joseph,  his 
son  who  enlisted  as  a  soldier,  but  served  in  the  capacity  of 
waiter  to  his  father,  was  one  of  the  last  surviving  revolu- 
tionary pensioners  of  the  town  of  Barnstable.  He  died  July 
7,  1855,  aged  93.  He  married  two  wives  and  was  the  father 
of  twenty-four  children,  of  whom  the  Hon.  Zenas  D.  is  the 
oldest.  One  of  his  wives  had  four  children  by  a  former  hus- 
band, so  that  in  fact  there  were  twenty-eight  in  his  family 
who  called  him  father. 

Joshua,  son  of  Joseph,  was  an  ensign  in  Col.  Gorham's 
llegiment  in  the  expedition  to  Louisburg,  in  1745.  He 
married  in  1738,  Hannah  Brimhall  of  Hingham,  and  had 
Sarah,  Oct.  28,  1739;  Susannah,  May  16,  1741;  Anna, 
March  3,  1742-3,  and  Joshua,  Nov.  18,  1744.  The  latter 
probably  died  young. 

Nathan  Basset,  son  of  Joseph,  lived  in  the  ancient 
Hallet  house,  situated  nearly  opposite  the  Barnstable  Bank. 
He  married  first,  Hannah  Hallet,  1751,  by  whom  he  had 
seven  children,  and  second,  Desire,  widow  of  Prince  Crow- 
ell.  He  had  1st,  John,  Nov.  4,  1753,  who  has  no  descend- 
ants now  living;  2d,  Thankful,  Nov.  3,  1756,  who  died 
young;  3d,  Joseph,  Feb.  13,  1759;  4th,  Ebenezer,  May 
24,  1761 ;  5th,  Thankful,  Sept.  19,  1763,  married  Ebenezer 
Taylor  ;  6th,  Francis,  Jan'y  14,  1766  ;  7th,  Joshua,  Aug.  7, 
1768,  father  of  the  present  Capt.  Joshua  Basset. 

Nathan  Basset,  son  of  Nathaniel,  is  the  ancestor  of  the 
Chatham  and  Harwich  families.  He  married  March  7,  1709, 
Mary,  daughter  of  Thomas  Crowell  of  Yarmouth,  He  died 
in  1728,  leaving  seven  children.  She  died  in  1742,  and 
names  in  her  will  sons  Nathan,  Thomas,  Nathaniel,  who 
married  Sarah  Chase  of  Yarmouth,  Aug.  23,  1729,  Samuel, 
and  daughters  Mary  Basset,  Dorcas  Nickerson  and  Hannah 
Co  veil. 

Capt.  Elisha  Basset  of  Sandwich,  grandson  of  Col. 
William,  married  Ruhama,  daughter  of  Samuel  Jennings  of 
Sandwich,  and  removed  to  Dennis,  then  Yarmouth.  His 
children,  born  in  Yarmouth,  were,  1st,  Lydia,  Aug.  14, 
1740,  married  Abraham  Howes,  1761 ;  2d,  Abigail,  Jan'y 
30,  1742  ;  3d,  Elisha,  March  14,  1744-5,  who  removed  with 
his  family  to  Ashfield  in  1797,  where  he  has  descendants; 
4th,  Samuel,  April  17,  1747,  who  went  to  Barnstable;  5th, 
William,  June  22,  1750,  married  Betty  Howes,  and  had  one 


GENEALOGICAL   NOTES   OF   BARNSTABLE   FAMILIES.         51 

son,  the  Hon.  Francis  Basset,  whose  parent  died  when  he 
was  a  child  ;  6th,  Deborah,  Oct.  30,  1752  ;  7tii,  Lot,  Jan'y 
22,  1755. 


Note. — I  intended  in  this  series  of  articles  to  write  sketches  of  the 
families  of  the  first  comers,  and  of  no  other.  I  have  been  induced  to 
depart  from  that  rule  in  this  instance.  Nearly  all  of  the  materials 
used  in  preparing  this  article  I  collected  fifteen  years  ago,  and  I  am 
aware  that  it  is  not  so  full  or  so  accurate  as  it  might  be  made.  Hon. 
Francis  Basset  has  an  extended  memoir  of  his  family,  which  he  has 
spent  much  time  in  preparing,  and  I  presume  will  publish  it  at  some 
fuuire  time. 


BEARSE. 


AUSTIN    OR    AUGUSTINE    BEAESE. 

Austin  or  Augustine  Bearae,  the  ancestor  of  this  family, 
came  over  in  the  ship  Confidence  of  London,  from  South- 
ampton, 24th  April,  lI'SS,  and  was  then  twenty  years  of 
age.  He  came  to  Barnstable  with  the  first  company  in  1639. 
His  house  lot,  containing  twelve  acres  of  very  rocky  land, 
was  in  the  westerly  part  of  the  East  Parish,  and  was  bounded 
westerly  by  John  Crocker's  land,  now  owned  by  his  heirs, 
northerly  by  the  meadow,  easterly  by  Goodman  Isaac  Eob- 
inson's  land,  and  "southerly  into  ye  woods."  He  owned 
six  acres  of  meadow  adjoining  his  upland  on  the  north,  and 
two  thatch  islands,  still  known  as  Bearse's  islands.  He  had 
also  six  acres  of  land  in  the  Calves  Pasture,  esteemed  to  be 
the  best  soil  in  the  town,  eight  acres  of  planting  land  on  the 
north  side  of  Shoal  pond,  and  bounded  by  Goodman  Coop- 
er's, now  called  Huckins'  Neck,  and  thirty  acres  at  the 
Indian  pond,  bounded  easterly  by  the  Herring  River.  The 
Indian  pond  lot  he  sold  to  Thomas  Allyn,  who  sold  the 
same  in  1665  to  Roger  Goadspeed. 

He  was  proposed  to,  be  admitted  a  freeman  June  3, 
1652,  and  admitted  May  3,  following.  His  name  rarely  oc- 
curs in  the  records.  He  was  a  grand  juror  in  1653  and 
1662,  and  a  surveyor  of  highways  in  1674. 

He  became  a  member  of  Mr.  Lothrop's  church,  April 
29,  1643.  His  name  stands  at  the  head  of  the  list,  he  being 
the  first  named  who  joined  after  its  removal  to  Barnstable.* 
He  appears  to  have  been  very  exact  in  the  performance  of 
his  religious  duties,  causing  his  children  to  be  baptized  on 
the  Sabbath  next  following  the  day  of  their  birth.     His  son 


*Since  writing  tbis  passage  I  have  become  satisfied  that  there  is  an 
omission  in  the  Uape  Church  records  preserved  1642,  of  members  ad- 
mitted in  1640  and  1641. 


GENEALOGICAL    NOTES    OF    BARNSTABLE    FAMILIES.  53 

Joseph  was  hoi-n  on  Sunday,  Jan'y  25,  1651,  O.  S.,  and 
was  carried  two  miles  to  the  church  and  baptized  the  same 
day.  Many  believed  in  those  times  that  children  dying  un- 
baptized  were  lost,  and  it  was  consequently  the  duty  of  the 
parent  to  present  his  child  early  for  baptism.  Goodman 
Bearse  was  influenced  by  this  feeling;  he  did  not  wish, -by 
a  week's  delay,  to  peril  the  eternal  salvation  ot  his  child. 
Now  such  an  act  would  l)e  pronounced  unnecessary  and 
ciuel. 

The  subject  of  baptism  had  disturbed  Mr.  Lothrop's 
church  from  its  organization.  In  London  the  Baptists 
quietly  separated  themselves  and  formed  the  flrst  Baptist 
Church  in  England.  In  iScituate  the  same  question  arose, 
di.sturl)ing  the  harmony  of  the  church,  and  to  avoid  these 
troubles,  Mr.  Lothrop  and  a  majority  of  his  church  came  to 
Barnstable.  His  book  on  the  subject  of  baptism,  printed  in 
London,  was  written  and  prepared  for  the  press  while  he 
was  in  Barnstable.  I  have  not  met  with  a  copy,  but  inci- 
dentally from  his  records,  I  infer  that  he  considered  baptism 
an  ordinance  of  primary  importance,  and  that  the  parent, 
being  a  church  member,  who  unnecessarily  delayed  the 
performance,  thereby  periled  the  salvation  of  the  child. 
Some  of  the  old  divines  taught  this  doctrine,  and  at  the 
present  day  it  is  not  entirely  obsolete. 

Goodman  Bearse  was  brought  up  under  such  teachings, 
and  however  differently  the  present  generation  may  view 
such  questions,  he  did  what  he  honestly  believed  to  be  his 
duty,  and  he  that  does  that  is  to  be  justified. 

He  was  one  of  the  very  few  against  whom  no  complaint 
was  ever  made  ;  a  fact  which  speaks  well  for  his  character  as 
a  man  and  a  citizen.  He  was  a  farmer,  lived  on  the  produce 
of  his  land,  and  brought  up  his  large  family  to  be  like  him- 
self, useful  members  of  society.  His  house  stood  on  the 
north  side  of  the  road,  and  his  cellar  and  some  remains  of 
his  orchard,  existed  at  the  commencement  of  the  present 
century.  I  find  no  record  of  his  death,  or  settlement  of  his 
estate  on  the  Probate  records.  He  was  living  in  1686  ;  but 
died  before  the  year  1697.  A  road  from  his  house  to  Hyan- 
nis  is  still  known  as  Bearse's  Way.  His  grandsons  settled 
early  at  Hyannis.  John  Jenkins  and  John  Dexter  after- 
vt^ards  owned  the  ancient  homestead.  The  planting  lands  at 
Shoal  Pond  were  occupied  by  his  descendants  till  recently. 

The  marriage  of  Goodman  Austin  Bearse  is  not  on  rec- 


54  GENEALOGICAL    NOTES    OF    BARNSTABLE    FAMILIES. 

ord.     His  children,  born  in  Barnstable,  were 

I.  Mary,  born  1640,  bap'd  May  6,  1643. 

II.  Martha,  born  1642,  bap'd  May  6,  1643. 

III.  Priscilla,  born  March  10,  1643-4,  bap'd  March  11, 
1643-4,  married  Dea.  John  Hall,  jr.,  of  Yarmouth, 
1660. 

IV.  Sarah,  born  March  28,  1646,  bap'd  March  29,  mar- 
ried John  Hamblin  of  Bai-nstable,  Aug.  1667,  and 
had  twelve  children. 

V.  Abigail,  born  Dec.  18,  1647,  bap'd  Dec.  19,  married 
April  12,  1670,  Allen  Nichols  of  Barnstable,  and  had 
nine  children. 

VI.  Hannah,  born  Nov.  16,  1649,  bap'd  Nov.  18. 

VII.  Joseph,  born  Jan'y  25,  1651-2,  bap'd  same  day,  mar- 
ried Dec.  3,  1676.  Martha  Taylor. 

VIII.  Hester,  born  Oct.  2,  1653,  bap'd  same  day. 

IX.  Lydia,  born  end  of  Sept.  1655. 

X.  Rebecca,,  born  Sept.  1657,  married  Feb.  1670-1, 
William  Hunter.  Additional  investigation  will  prob- 
ably show  the  above  to  be  an  error  of  the  record. 
William  Hunter  of  Sandwich,  married  liebecca, 
daughter  of  Wid.  Jane  Besse,  who  married  second, 
the  notorious  Marshall  George  Barlow.  If  the  record 
is  correct,  she  was  only  13  years,  5  months  old  when 
married. 

XI.  James,  born  end  of  July,  1660.  He  was  admitted  a 
townsman  in  1683,  being  then  only  23  years  of  age. 
In  the  division  of  the  meadows  in  1694,  he  had  four 
acres,  and  in  the  final  division  in  1697,  the  same 
number  was  confirmed  to  him.  In  the  division  of  the 
common  lands  in  1703,  his  name  does  not  appear  ac- 
cording to  the  rules  adopted  for  the  admission  of 
townsmen,  and  the  division  of  common  land ;  the 
above  facts  indicate  that  James  Bearse  was  married  in 
1683,  as  no  unmarried  men  were  admitted  townsmen 
till  24  years  of  age ;  that  he  was  a  man  who  had 
good  property,  (2  1-2  or  3  being  the  average),  this 
proportion  indicates,  and  his  name  not  appearing  on 
the  list  in  1703,  shows  that  he  was  then  dead  or  had 
removed  from  town.  There  was  a  Bearse  family 
early  in  Halifax,  Plymouth  county.  An  Austin 
Bearse  is  named  who  removed  to  Cornwall,  Nova 
Scotia.    Andrew  Bearse  of  Halifax,  Plymouth  county, 


GENEALOGICAL    NOTES    OF    BARNSTABLE    FAMILIES.  55 

raaiTied  Margaret   Dawes  of  East  Bridewater,  1736. 

There   were    others  of  the    name  in  Halifax.     It  is 

probable  that  James,  son  of  Austin,  removed  to  that 

town. 
Joseph  Bearse,  son  of  Austin,  probably  was  a  soldier  in 
King  Philip's  war,  his  sons  having  rights  in  the  town  of 
Gorham,  granted  to  the  heirs  of  the  soldiers  who  served 
with  Capt.  Gorhara.  He  married  Dec.  3,  1676,  Martha 
Taylor,  daughter  of  Richard  of  Yarmouth,  a  "tailor"  by 
trade,  and  so  called  to  distinguish  him  from  another  of  the 
same  name  called  "Kock."'  He  died  about  the  year  1695. 
She  died  January  27,  1727-8,  aged  77  years. 

Children  born  in  Barnstable: 

I.  Mary,  born  Aug.  16,  1677.  8he  did  not  marry — 
was  admitted  to  the  East  Church,  1742,  and  died 
Jan'y  19,  1760,  aged  84  years. 

n.  Joseph,  born  Feb.  21,  1679.  He  was  one  of  the 
Grantees  of  Gorham,  and  his  name  is  on  the  list  of 
the  first  settlers  in  that  town,  dated  1733.  He  re- 
sided at  Hyannis  before  his  removal  to  Maine. 

ni.  Benjamin,  born  June  21,  1682,  married,  Feb.  4, 
1701-2,  Sarah  Cobb,  second,  Anna  Nickerson  of 
Chatham. 

IV.  Priscilla,  born  Dec.  31,  1683,  died  March  31,  1684. 

V.  EI)enezer,  born  Jan'y  20,  1687,  married  Nov.  25, 
1708,  Elizabeth  Cobb,  and  second  Joanna  Lumbert, 
Sept.  4,  1712. 

VI.  John,  born  May  8,  1687,  married  Nov.  15,  1711, 
Elinor  Lewis. 

VII.  Josiah,  born  March  10,  1690,  married  first,  Nov.  2, 
1716,  Zeurich  Newcomb  of  Edgartown,  and  second 
Mary.     Removed  to  Gi'eenwich,  Conn.,  1734. 

VIII.  James,  born  Oct.  3,  1692,  married  Mary  Fuller, 
March  17,  1719-20. 

Benjamin  Bearse.  son  of  Joseph,  was  one  of  the  early 
settlers  at  Hyannis.  His  homestead  was  bounded  east  by 
David  Hallet's  land,  the  corner  being  two  rods  from  Hallet's 
house,  and  is  now  owned  by  his  descendants.  In  his  will 
dated  March  26,  1748,  proved  on  the  7th  of  July  following, 
he  named  his  sons  Augustine,  Benjamin,  Joseph,  Samuel, 
Peter  and  Stephen;  his  daughters  Martha  Lewis,  Priscilla 
Lewis,  Sarah   Nickerson  and  Thankful  Nickerson,  and  his 


50        GENEALOGICAL   NoTES   OF  BARNSTABLE   I'AMILIES.. 

wife  Anna,  to  whom  he  gave  all  the  household  goods  she 
brought  with  her,  and  the  imj)rovement  of  one-third  of  all 
his  real  and  personal  estate.  To  Augustine  he  ga\e  land 
bounded  S.  E.  and  N.  by  the  heirs  of  Jonathan  Lewis,  de- 
ceased ;  to  Joseph  and  Samuel  his  house  and  orchard ;  to 
Peter  a  house  and  one  acre  of  land  on  the  north  side  of  the 
road;  to  Stephen  and  Benjamin  all  his  lands  m  Gorham 
town  ;  to  Joseph,  Peter  and  Samuel  all  the  rest  of  his  real 
and  personal  estate,  they  paying  debts,  legacies,  and  allow- 
ing Augustine  a  convenient  way  to  the  landing  "where  I 
make  oysters,"  and  a  place  to  land  and  dry  fish  ;  to  Benja- 
min, Martha  and  Priscilla  £12  old  tenor  each  ($5.33),  and 
to  Sarah  and  Thankful  £2  each,  a  bed  and  other  articles  to 
be  divided  equally.  His  personal  estate  was  appraised  at 
£431,  16,9.,  6p.,  and  his  real  estate  at  £910,  and  his  mu- 
latto boy  Tom  at  £()() — all  I  presume  in  old  tenor  currency, 
corn  being  appraised  at  £1  per  bushel — that  is  50  coppers 
equal  to  44  cents. 

He  was  engaged  in  the  fisheries,  and  the  soccess  ot* 
himself  and  sons  was  sung  b}'  some  contemporar}'  trouba- 
dour, whose  verses  are  remembered  though  the  name  of  the 
poet  is  forgotten.  He  married  first,  Sarah,  daughter  of 
Samuel  Cobb,  Feb,  4,  1701-2,  she  died  Jmiuary  14,  1742, 
and  he  married  in  1747  his  second  wife,  Anna  Nickerson  of 
Chatham.  He  died  May  15,  1748,  aged  66,  and  is  buried 
with  his  first  wife  in  the  old  graVe-yard  in  Hyannis,  where 
their  son  Samuel  caused  grave  stones  to  be  erected  to  their 
memory. 

Children  of  benjamin  Bearse  born  in  Barnstable  : 

1.  Martha,  born  9th  Nov. ,  1702,  married  Antipas  Lewis, 

Oct.  15,  1730. 

H.  Augustine,  born  3d  June,  1704,  married  June  3, 
■1728,  Bethia,  daughter  of  John  Linnell,  she  died  7th 
Oct.,  1743,  aged  39,  and  he  married  Sept.  7,  1744, 
for  his  second  wife.  Thankful,  widow  of  Nathaniel 
Bacon.  He  died  June  2,  1751,  aged  47,  and  his 
widow,  Nov.  1774,  aged  70.  He  resided  at  first  at 
1  Hyannis,  perhaps  after  his  second  marriage,  with  his 

wife  at  Barnstable.  He  was  engaged  in  the  whale 
,  fishery  and  owned  try-works  which  were  sold  after 
his  death.  He  had  seven  children,  all  of  whom  are 
named    in    his  will.     1.     Prince,     born  12th  March 


GENEALOGICAL    NOTES    OF    BARNSTABLE    FAMILIES.  57 

1730-1,  married  Desire  Downs,  1754;  2d,  Temper- 
ance, 17th  INIarch,  1732-3,  married  Lemuel  Lewis, 
March  7,  1750;  3d,  Mercv,  9th  March,  1734-5,  mar- 
ried Feb.  20,  1752,  Thomas  Buck;  4th,  Lydia,  25th 
Dec,  1736;  5th,  Simeon,  27th  June,  1739;  6th, 
Sarah  bap'd  March  9th,  1745-6,  married  Samuel 
Bearse  Nov.  15,  1764;  Levi,  bap'd  Oct.  25,  1747. 

III.  Elizabeth,  3d  May,  1706,  probably  died  young. 

IV.  Joseph,  30th  Oct".  1708,  married  Lydia  Deane  Oct. 
12,  1749,  died  in  1751,  leavinsj  a  son  Joseph,  bau'd 
Apl.  14,  1754.  She  married  Feb.  17, 1756,  Thomas 
Annis. 

V.  Benjamin,  26th  March,  1710.  He  was  a  blacksmith, 
and  married  Jean  or  Jane,  daughter  of  Moses  God- 
frey of  Chatham,  to  which  town  he  removed,  and  is 
the  ancestor  of  the  Bearse  families  in  that  town.  He 
died  in  1753,  letiving  widow  Jean,  sons  Jonathan, 
George,  Benjamin,  David  and  Moses,  and  daughters 
Elizabeth,  wife  of  Thomas  Eldridge,  Hannah,  Sarah 
and  Martha.  His  real  estate  was  appraised  at  £399, 
lis.,  and  his  personal  estate  at  £204,  2s.,  Sd.,  prob- 
ably in  lawful  money. 

VI.;      Jesse,  22d  Oct.,  1712,  probably  died  young. 

VII,  Priscilla,  5th  June,  1713,  married  Oct.  16,  1735, 
Elnathan  Lewis. 

Villi    David,  27th  March,  1716,  probably  died  younsr. 

IX.  \    Peter,  25:h  Oct.,  1718,  mariied  Xov    12,'l74l',  Deb- 
orah, diughter    of  Capt.  Samuel  Bacon,  and  had  1st, 
Samuel,   lOth   Sept.,    1742,  who  married   Nov.   15, 
[1764,  Sarah  Bearse;  2d,  Jesse,  2d  Nov.  1743;  3d, 
)avid,  20th   Nov.,  1745;  4th,    Edward,  12th  June, 
L750. 

Samuel,  9th  Dec,  1720,  died  Oct.  30,  1751,  aged  30 
wears.  He  resided  in  Yarmouth  at  the  time  of  his 
death,  and  in  his  will  dated  15th  Oct.,  1751,  he  or- 
ders tomb-stones  to  be  placed  at  the  graves  of  his 
fafther  Benjamin  and  mother  Sarah.  He  devises  his 
estate  to  his  brothers,  sisters  and  cousins  [nephews] . 
To\his  cousin  [nephew]  Samuel,  son  of  his  brother 
Peter,  his  gold  buttons. 

Xli  Sarah,  5th  July,  1722,  married  Ebenezer  Nickerson 
of  Tarmouth,  Feb.  17,  1744. 


58  GENEALOGICAL    NOTES    OF    BARNSTABLE    FAMILIES. 

Xn.     Thankful,  Feb.  4,  1724,  inarried  Shobael  Nickerson, 

i\larch  (),  1746. 
XIII.  Stephen,  named  in  his  father's  will,  but  I  lind  noth- 
ing farther  respecting  him. 
Ebenezer  Bearse,  son  of  Joseph,  married  25th  Nov., 
1708,  Elizabeth,  daughter  of  Sairiuel  Cobb.  She  died  15th 
July,  1711,  and  he  married  Joanna  Lambert,  Sept.  4,  1712. 
He  died  Feb.  1759,  and  his  widow  being  "non  compus,'" 
had  a  guardian  appointed  May  9,  1759.  In  his  will  he 
names  his  grandsons  Daniel  and  Solomon,  children  of  his 
son  Stephen,  deceased,  his  son  Ebenezer,  and  daughters 
Bethiah  Lovell,  Abigail  Lewis,  Elizabeth  Basset  and  Ruth 
Pitcher. 

Uhildren  born  in  Barnistahle. 

I.  Bethiah.  born  (jth  Aug.,  1709,  married  John  Lovell 
Nov.  14,  1732. 

II.  Samuel,  26th  Feb.,  1711.  His  grandfather  Coi)b 
gave  him  a  legacy  in  his  will,  and  his  father  was  ap- 
pointed his  guardian  March  27,  1728.  He  probably 
died  unmarried. 

III.  Elizabeth,  22d  March,  1714,  died  young. 

IV.  Abigail,  22d  Nov.,  1715,  married  Melatiah  Lewis, 
Oct.  I,  1742. 

V.  Ebenezer,  1st  March,  1717,  married  Mary  Berry  of 
Yarmouth,  1754. 

VI.  Daniel,  17th  July,  1720.     Probably  died  young. 

VII.  Stephen,  born  1st  Oct.,  1721,  married  Hannah  Cole- 
man, June  9,  1748,  and  had  sons  Daniel  and  Solo- 
mon, named  in  their  grandfather's  will. 

VIII.  Rebecca,  born  3d  June,  1725.     Probably  died  young. 

IX.  Patience,  bap'd  6th  April,  1729.  Probably  died 
young. 

X.  Elizabeth,  bap'd  19th  Oct.,  1729,  married  Nathaniel 
Basset  of  Rochester,  1752. 

XI.  Ruth,  bap'd  2d  June,  1734,  married  Jonathan  Pitcher, 
Feb.  9,  1758. 

John  Bearse,  son  of  Joseph,  married  Eleanor  Lew- 
is 15th  Nov.,  1711.  He  died  May  3,  1760,  aged  72.  His 
children  were  Lydia,  born  28th  July,  1712,  who  married 
Capt.  John  Cullio,  a  Scotchman,  Jan'y  1,  1735  ;  John,  who 
married  Lydia  Lumbert,  Feb.  12,  1746 ;  Hannah,  who 
married  Jabez  Bearse,  March  26,  1761,  second  wife;  Elea- 


GENEALOGICAL    XOTES    OF    BARNSTABLE    FAMILIES.  59 

nor,  who  married  John  Loggee,  Jan'y  13,  1753;  Martha, 
who  married  Isaac  Lewis,  F'eb.  10,  1748  ;  Mary  and  Dinah. 

Josiiah  Boart<e,  son  of  Jo8e])h,  married  Zerviah  New- 
corab,  hy  whom  he  had  no  children,  and  second  Mary.  He 
was  dismis-:ed  from  the  East  Barnstable  Church  to  the 
Church  in  Greenwich,  Conn.,  Dec.  29,  1734,  and  afterwards 
to  New  Fairlield,  in  the  same  8tate.  His  children  born  in 
Barnstable  were  Anna,  11th  Jul}',  1719;  Josiah,  3d  Feb., 
17-20-1;  Eunice,  2d  Jan'ry,  1722-3,  died  April  (5,  1727; 
Jonathan,  born  22d  Nov. ,1724,  died  Dec.  2,  1731;  Lois, 
born  17th  July,  172«  ;  Thomas,  10th  March,  1728-9,  and 
Eunice,  13th  Feb.,  1731-2;  Martha,  June  26,  1738;  Mary, 
May  8,  1741. 

James  Bearse,  son  of  Joseph,  married  March  19,  1719- 
20,  Mary  Fuller,  and  second.  Thankful  Linnell  in  1726. 
He  died  Oct.  11,  1758,  aged  G6.  In  his  will  dated  13th 
Sept.,  1758,  he  gives  to  his  v/ife  Thankful,  his  Indian  maid 
servant  Thankful  Pees,  and  other  pi-operty  in  lieu  of  dower. 
To  his  son  Jabez,  the  estate  that  was  Augustine  Bearse's,and 
one-half  of  the  cedar  swamp  near  his  house  ;  to  his  daughter 
Thankful  Lumbert,  £20  lawful  money,  and  one-fourth  of 
his  in-door  moveables  ;  and  to  Lemuel  all  the  rest  of  his  es- 
tate.    His  children  born  in  Barnstable  were 

I.  Jabez,  20th  Feb.,  1720-1.  married  Nov.  26,  1747, 
Elizabeth  Hallet,  and  second,  March  26,  1761,  Hannah 
Bearse. 

II.  James,  3d  Feb.,  1728-9,  died  Sept.  29,  1729. 

III.  Lemuel,  3d  May,  1731,  married  Patience  Phinney, 
April  30,  1761. 

IV.  Thankful,  1st  Aug.,  1736,  married  Lemuel  Lumbert, 
Sept.  20,  1753. 


BAKER. 

The  Baker  families  in  Barnstable  and  West  Barnstable, 
are  descendants  of  Rev.  Nicholas  Baker  of  Scituate  ;  the 
Hyannis  families  from  Francis,  who  settled  in  Yarmouth. 

Rev.  Nicholas  Baker  was  a  graduate  of  St.  John's  Col- 
lege, Cambridge,  England,  had  his  Batchelor's  degree  in 
1(331-2,  and  Master  of  Arts,  1635.  His  brother  Nathan- 
iel came  over  with  him  and  both  settled  at  Hingham  in  1635. 
He  received  a  share  in  the  first  division  of  house  lots  in  that 
town.  He  afterwards  became  a  large  landholder  in  Hull. 
He  was  ordained  in  Scituate  in  1660,  where  he  was  instru- 
mental in  effecting  a  reconciliation  of  the  two  churches 
which  had  held  no  conmiunication  with  each  other  for  twen- 
ty-five years.  Cotton  Mather  says  :  "Honest  Nicholas  Ba- 
ker of  Scituate,  was  so  good  a  logician  that  he  could  oifer 
up  to  God  a  reasonable  service,  so  good  an  arithmetician 
that  he  could  wisely  number  his  days,  and  so  good  an  ora- 
tor that  he  persuaded  himself  to  be  a  Christian."  He  died 
Aug.  22,  1678,  aged  67,  of  "that  horror  of  mankind,  and 
rein'oach  of  medicine,  the  stone,"  a  memorable  example  of 
patience  under  suffering. 

He  was  twice  married.  His  first  wife  died  at  Scituate 
in  1661,  and  he  married  the  following  year  his  second  wife 
Grace,  who  died  in  Barnstable,  January  22,  1696-7.  In  his 
will  dated  1678,  he  names  his  wife  Grace,  whom  he  appoint- 
ed executrix,  his  brother  Nathaniel  Baker,  his  sons  Samuel 
and  Nicholas,  and  four  daughters,  namely,  Mary,  who  mar- 
ried Stephen  Vinal,  26th  Feb.,  1662;  Elizabeth,  married 
1664,  John  Vinal ;  Sarah,  married  Josiah  Litchfield,  and 
Deborah  married  1678,  Israel  Chittenden. 

Samuel,  to  whom  his  father  gave  an  estate  in  Hull,  Mas 
a  freeman  of  that  town  in  1677.  He  married  Fear,  daugh- 
ter of  Isaac  Robinson,  and  had  a  family.  May  12,  1687,  he 
was  admitted  an  inhabitant  of  Barnstable,  and  the  same  year 
he  and  his  wife  were  admitted  to  the  Barnstable  Church  by 
dismission  from  the  Church  at  Hull.  The  veneral)le  Isaac 
Robinson  resided  a  year  or  two  at  the  close  of  his  life  with 


GENEALOGICAL    NOTES    OF    BARNSTABLE    FAMILIES.  61 

his  daughter  Fear,  and  the  fact  that  the  widow  Grace  Baker 
had  also  resided  in  this  family,  probably  gave  rise  to  the 
tradition  that  Isaac  Robinson's  mother  came  over  with  him, 
and  died  in  Barnstable. 

I  find  no  record  of  the  children  of  Samuel  and  Fear 
Baker.  Deacon  John  and  Nathaniel  were  their  sons,  and 
Mary,  who  married  Oct.  26,  1699,  Adam  Jones,  and  Grace, 
who  married  Dec.  16,  1701,  Israel  Luce,  were  probably 
their  daughters. 

Deacon  John  Baker  married  14th  Oct.  1696,  Anna, 
daughter  of  Samuel  Annable.  She  died  March  21,  1732-3, 
"aged  near  57  ^'ears,"  and  was  buried  in  the  ancient  grave- 
yard at  West  Barnstable.  After  the  death  of  his  wife  he 
removed  to  Windham,  Conn. 

Children  born  in  Barnstable. 

I.  Annah,  8th  Sept.,  1697,  married  Oct.  17,  1717,  Capt. 
Samuel  Lombard.     She  died  May  19,  1747. 

II.  Mary,  18th  Aug.,  1699,  married  April  20,  1720,  Ben- 
jamin Lothrop,  and  afterwards  removed  to  Connec- 
ticut. 

III.  John,  14th  June,  1701,     Died  young. 

IV.  Eebecca,  8th  Sept .  1704. 

V.  Samuel,  7th  Sept.,  1706,  married  May  St),  1732, 
Prudence  Jenkins ;  had  1st,  Martha,  24th  Jan'y, 
1732-3;  2d,  Anna,  12th  May,  1735;  3d,,Bethia, 
12th  June,  1737;  4th,  Samuel,  30th  Sept.,  1740; 
5th,  Mercy,  30th  May,  1743.  This  family  removed 
to  Windham,  Conn. 

VI.  Mary,  25th  March,  1710,  married  Lemuel  Hedge  of 
Yarmouth,  1733. 

VII.  Mehitabel,  7lh  May  1712,  married  Eben'r  Crosby  of 
Yarmouth,  Jan'y  10,  1734. 

VIII.  Abigail,  1st  Feb.,  1713-4,  married  Ichabod  Lathrop 
of  Tolland,  Conn.,  Nov.  9,  1732. 

IX.  John,  1st  Dec,  1716,  married  Mercy  Gary  of  Wind- 
ham, Conn.,  Dec.  7,  1744. 

X.  Hannah,  24th  March,  1718. 

Nathaniel  Baker  resided  in  the  East  Parish,  his  house, 
yet  remaining,  is  on  Baker's  Lane.  His  first  wife,  the 
mother  of  all  his  children,  is  not  named  on  the  record,  tie 
married  5th  Jan'y,  1718-19,  AVid.  Mercy  Lewis.  He  died 
in  1750,  and  his  widow,  Dec. 7,  1768,  aged  80,  according  to 


(32  GENEALOGICAL    NOTES    OF    BARNSTABLE    FAMILIES. 

the  Church  records  ;  but  according  to  the  town  records,  she 
was  older. 

Children  born  in  Barnstable. 

I.  Benney,  born  15th  Aug.,  1705,  died  June,  1706. 

II.  Mercy,  born  4th  Feb."  1706,  married  Nov.  7,  1728, 
Sylvanus  Cobb,  and  had  eight  children. 

III.  Sarah,  born  4th  Oct.,  1708,  died  Nov.  19,  1708. 

IV.  Nathaniel,  born  15th  Dec,  1709,  married  1732,  Ann 
Lumbard  of  Newtown,  and  had  1st,  Isaac,  born  2d 
April,  1734;  2d,  Mercy,  Gth  May,  1738;  3d,  Benne, 
2d  Oct.,  1751 ;  4th,  Anna,  18th  Jan'y,  1754.  Isaac 
of  this  family  married  Rebecca  Lewis,  Oct.  6,  1754, 
and  had  Rebecca,  James,  Lewis,  Ezekiel,  Nathaniel, 
John,  who  removed  to  Brewster,  and  Isaac  who  died 
in  Barnstable,  unmarried,  about  20  years  ago. 

V.  Nicholas,  born  Gth  Nov.,  1711, 'married  Dorcas  Back- 
us of  Sandwich,  was  of  Dighton,  removed  to  Barn- 
stable in  1635.  He  was  a  mariner,  and  died  Jan'y 
31,  1739-40.  He  had  1st,  Nath'l  who  died  young ; 
2d,  Ebenezer,  and  3d,  David. 

VI.  Sarah,  2d  Nov.,  1713,  married  Oct.  26,  1732,  Jona. 
Sturgis. 

VII.  Thankful,  28th  March,  1715,  married  Jan'y  1,  1734, 
Jesse  Cobb. 

VIII.  Benne,  28th  Sept.,  1716,  married  Patience  Lumbard, 
Nov.  19,  1741.  He  died  29th  Dec,  1747,  and  she 
died  28th  Dec,  1748,  leaving  two  orphan  children, 
John,  born  3d  Jan'y,  1743,  and  Thankful,  born  29th 
June,  1745 — both  of  whom  married  and  had  families. 

IX.  Elizabeth,  born  9th  March,  1718,  married  Benjamin 
Nye,  Jr.,  of  Falmouth,  Sept.  28,  1738. 

There  are  very  few  descendants  of  Honest  Nicholas 
Baker,  now  remaining  in  Barnstable.  Dea.  John,  who  re- 
moved to  Windham,  Conn.,  was  a  prominent  man;  but  the 
other  members  of  the  family  have  not  been  distinguished. 

The  Baker  families  at  Hyannis  are  descendants  of  Fran- 
cis, who  settled  in  Yarmouth..  Their  pedigree  is  as  follows  : 
Francis  Baker,  from  Great  St.  Albans,  Hertfordshire,  Eno-- 
land,  came  over  in  the  Planter,  1635,  aged  24,  married  in 
1641,  Isabel  Twining,  and  had  six  sons  and  two  dauo-hters. 
Nathaniel,  his  eldest  son,  born  March  27,  1642,  had  three 
sons;  Samuel,  the  eldest,  born  Oct.  29,  1670,  married  July 


GENEALOGICAL    NOTES    OF    BARNSTABLE    FAMILIES.  63 

30,  1702,  Elizabeth  Berry,  and  had  three  sons  and  five 
daughters ;  the  eldest  son,  Judah,  born  Aug.  19,  1705, 
married  Feb.  15,  1728-9,  Mercy  Burgess,  and  had  three 
sons  and  five  daughters ;  the  oldest  son,  Timothy,  born  Ap. 

21,  1732,  married  ,  1753,  Kezia,  and   had    six    sons 

(one  of  whom  v/as  the  father  of  the  present  Capt.  Timothy 
Baker),  and  three  daughters. 

The  descendants  of  Francis  Baker  of  Yarmouth,  may 
be  numbered  by  tens  of  thousands.  Xone  have  l)een  very 
much  distinguished  ;  but  among  them  will  be  found  very 
many  able  seamen,  and  good  business  men. 


BARKER   AND  BORDEN. 


John  Barker,  Sen.,  of  Duxhni-y,  married  in  1632,  Ann, 
daughter  of  John  William.s,  Sen.,  of  Scitiiate.  He  removed 
to  Marshfield,  then  called  Kexamc,  in  1(338,  and  was  drowned 
in  1652.  He  had  children  Deborah,  John,  Williams,  and 
perhaps  others.  His  widow  Ann  married  Abraham  Blush 
of  Barnstable,  and  died  Feb.  16,  1657-.S.  Deborah  came  to 
Barnstable  with  her  mother  and  probably  her  son  .John.  At 
fourteen  John  chose  his  n.ncle,  Capt.  John  Williams  of  Scit- 
nate,  his  guardian,  with  the  understanding  that  he  should  be 
brought  up  to  some  trade  or  profitable  employment.  After 
he  l)ecame  of  age,  John  sued  his  uncle,  who  was  a  man  of 
great  wealth,  for  wages  during  his  minority,  averring  that 
his  uncle  had  violated  his  contract ;  that  he  had  not  brought 
him  up  to  a  trade  that  would  be  of  use  to  him,  and  that  his 
uncle  had  kept  hmi  employed  in  menial  duties,  and  there- 
fore he  was  entitled  towages.  He  also  brought  an  action 
for  rents  collected  from  his  estate  in  Marshfield,  during  his 
minority,  and  his  uncle  brought  an  action  against  him  for 
slander.  The  details  of  these  actions  occupy  much  space  on 
the  records.  They  were  finally  settled  by  the  good  offices 
of  mutual  friends.  Afterwards  he  had  another  lawsuit  with 
his  uncle,  making  it  evident  that  they  did  not  live  together 
on  terms  of  amity  or  friendship. 

He  was  a  sergeant  in  Philip's  war,  probably  in  the 
company  of  which  his  uncle  was  captain,  and  was  severelj' 
wounded  in  an  engagement  with  the  Indians,  from  the  effects 
of  which  it  seems  he  never  entirely  recovered,  for  in  1680 
he  was  freed  from  serving  in  the  ti-ain  bands  on  account  of 
the  injury  received.  He  removed  from  Scituate  in  1676  or 
7,  and  resided  in  Barnstable  till  1683,  and  perhaps  later, 
when  he  removed  to  Marshfield,  of  which  town  he  was  the 
deputy  in  1689,  and  soon  after  returned  to  Scituate,  where 
he  died  Dec.  1729,  aged  nearly  30  years. 


GENEALOGICAL   NOTES    OF   BARNSTABLE   FAMILIES.  65 

John  Barker,  Esq.,  was  a  prominent  man  in  the  Colony. 
He  was  often  engaged  as  an  attorney  for  parties  in  the  tran- 
saction of  legal  and  other  business  ;  was  a  referee  in  many 
important  cases.  Though  a  resident  of  Barnstable,  only 
when  young,  and  for  about  ten  years  after  the  time  of  his 
marriage,  he  was  not  entirely  disconnected  with  the  business 
of  the  town  and  county,  after  his  removal.  He  was  one  of 
the  referees  in  the  important  case  between  the  Winslows  and 
Clarks,  which  alienated  those  families  and  made  their  de- 
scendants bitter  enemies  for  more  than  a  century. 

The  account  which  Mr.  Deane  gives  of  this  family  will 
not  bear  the  test  of  criticism.  He  says  that  Williams  Bar- 
ker was  a  son  of  John  Barker,  Esq.,  second  of  the  name, 
and  that  Capt.  John  Williams  gave  his  farm  in  Scituate  to 
Williams  Barker.  The  latter  was  a  brother,  not  a  son  of 
John  Barker,  2d.  Capt.  Williams  in  his  will,  gives  to 
"Nephew  Williams  Barker,  son  of  John  Barker  of  Marsh- 
field,  the  200  acre  farm  formerly  purchased  of  Mr.  Hath- 
erly."  He  also  gives  legacies  to  nephews  John  Barker  of 
Marshfield  and  Abraham  Blush  of  Boston. 

It  can  be  shown  by  the  Barnstable  town  records  that  if 
John  Barker,  2d.,  had  a  son  Williams,  he  could  not  have 
been  over  six  years  of  age  at  the  date  of  Capt.  John  Wil- 
liams' will  in  1691 ;  yet  Mr;  Deane  assures  us  that  Samuel 
Barker,  Esq.,  only  son  of  Williams  Barker,  was  born  in  the 
year  1684;  that  is,  that  Samuel  was  only  one  year  younger 
than  his  father  Williams.  If  this  is  true,  the  Barkers  of 
early  times  were  a  more  prolific  race  than  the  present  John 
Barker of  Bwnstable. 

The  following  account  of  his  family  is  principally  ob- 
tained from  the  Barnstable  town  records.  He  married  Jan. 
18,  1676-7,  Desire,  youngest  daughter  of  Anthony  Annable 
of  Barnstable.  She  died,  according  to  the  inscription  on  her 
grave-stones,  at  Scituate,  July  24,  1706,  in  the  53d  year  of 
her  age.  He  married  the  same  year  for  his  second  wife 
Hannah,  daughter  of  Thomas  Loring  of  Hingham,  and  widow 
of  Eev.   Jeremiah  Gushing  of  Scituate.     She  died  May  30, 

1710,  aged  46,  and  he  took  for  his  third  wife  Sarah , 

who  died  Sept.  7,  1730. 

Children  born  in  Barnstable. 

I.      John,  born  4th  May,  1678.     He  married  in  1706,  Han- 
nah, daughter  of  Eev.  Jeremiah  Gushing,  whose  widow 


66         GENEALOGICAL    NOTES    OF    BARNSTABLE    FAMILIES. 

had  married,  as  above  stated,  his  father.  This  is  the 
statement  of  iMr.  Savage,  and  I  think  reliable,  though 
in  direct  conflict  with  the  account  given  by  Mr.  Deane. 

II.  Desire,  born  22d  Sept.,  1680. 

III.  Anne,  26th  Aug.,  1682,  died  22d  Nov.,  1682. 

IV.  Anne,  born  1st  Nov.,  1683. 

He  probably  had  other  children  after  his  removal  from 
Barnstable.  His  sister  Deborah  married  William  Barden, 
Burden  or  Borden.  He  was,  perhaps,  one  of  the  youths  of 
fourteen  years  of  age,  of  good  habits,  sent  over  to  be  bound 
out  as  apprentices.  He  came  over  probably  in  1638,  and 
was  bound  to  Thomas  Boardman  of  Plymouth,  to  learn  the 
trade  of  a  carpenter,  Jan'y  10,  1638-9  ;  six  and  one-half 
years  of  the  term  of  his  apprenticeship  being  unexpired, 
Boardman  released  him,  and  he  was  bound  to  John  Barker 
of  Marshfield,  to  learn  the  trade  of  a  bricklayer.  After  the 
expiration  of  his  apprenticeship,  he  went  to  Concord,  then 
a  mere  settlement,  and  after  his  marriage  he  resided  a  short 
time  in  Duxbury.  From  Barnstable  he  removed  to  Middle- 
borough,  his  wife  being  dismissed  from  the  Barnstable 
Church  to  Middleborough  in  1683.  31st  Oct.,  1666,  John 
Bates  and  William  Barden  were  fined  3  shillings,  4  pence 
each  for  "breaking  the  King's  peace  by  striking  each  other. 
Burden  was  drunk  at  the  time,  and  was  fined  5  shillings  be- 
side, and  Bates  was  ordered  by  the  Court  to  pay  Burden  20 
shillings  for  abusing  him." 

He  married  Feb.,  1660,  Deborah  Barker,  and  had 
children  born  in  Barnstable,  namely  : 

I.  Mercy,  born  1st  Nov.,  1662. 

II.  Deborah,  28th  June,  1665. 

III.  John,  17th  March,  1667-8. 

IV.  Stephen,  15th  April,  1669. 

V.  Abraham,  14th  May,  1674. 

VI.  Joseph,  Sept.,   1675. 

VII.  Anna,  26th  Aug.,  1677. 

John  "Bardon,"  son  of  William,  had  John,  born  May 
1,  1704,  in  Middleborough,  Ichabod,  Dec.  18,  1705. 

Stephen  "Borden,"  son  of  William  of  Middleborouo-h, 
had  Sarah,  Apl.  30,  1695  ;  William,  Mar.  2,  1697  ;  Abigail, 
Mar.  3,  1698-9;  Stephen,  May,   1701;  Timothy,  Jan'y  3,' 
1703-4;    Mary,    Oct.    27,    1705,  and   Hannah,  March  13 
1707-8\ 

Abraham,  son  of  William,  married  Mary  Booth,  1697. 


OENEALOGICAL    NOTES    OF    BAKNSTABLE    FAMILIES.  1)7 

Perhaps  the  reader  may  think  I  am  severe  in  my  criti- 
cisms on  the  Rev.  Mr.  Deane.  Ail  I  do  is  to  take  his  own 
statements  and  place  them  in  a  position  where  their  absurd- 
ity will  be  seen.  No  one  has  a  higher  respect  for  Mr.  Deane 
than  the  writer.  He  was  a  pioneer  in  the  work,  and  the 
wonder  is  that  he  has  made  so  few,  rather  than  so  many 
mistakes. 

In  his  article  on  the  Gushing  family,  he  says  that  Sam- 
uel Barker,  Esq.,  was  a  son  of  John  Barker,  Esq.,  and  that 
he  married  in  1706,  Hannah  Cushing.  This  is  much  more 
probable  than  his  other  statement  that  Samuel  was  the  son 
of  Williams. 

The  children  of  this  Samuel  were,  Samuel,  Ignatius, 
Ezekiel,  Hannah  and  Deborah.  Samuel  manned  Deborah 
Gorham  of  Barnstable.  The  Crocker's  at  West  Barnstable 
are  also  connected  by  marriage  with  the  Barkers. 

The  Bordens  of  Fall  River  probably  descend  from  Ste- 
phen, son  of  William  of  Barnstable,  and  not  from  the  Rhode 
Island  families  of  the  name. 


BODFISH. 


The  ancestor  of  this  family  wrote  his  name  "Rob- 
ert Botfish,"  yet  on  the  records  it  is  written  Botfish,  Bot- 
ffish,  Bodfish,  Badfish,  Bootfish  and  Boatfish.  He  was  early 
at  Lynn,  a  freeman  May  5th,  1635,  and  of  Sandwich  in  1637, 
of  which  town  he  was  one  of  the  original  proprietors.  The 
Indian  title  to  the  lands  in  Sandwich  was  purchased  by 
William  Bradford  and  his  partners  of  the  old  Plymouth 
Company  in  1637,  for  £16,  19  shillings,  payable  "in  com- 
odities,"  and  Jan'y  24,  1647-8,  they  assigned  their  rights  to 
Edmund  Freeman,  and  on  the  26th  of  February  following, 
he  assigned  the  same  to  George  Allen,  John  Vincent,  Wil- 
liam Newland,  Robert  Botfish.  Anthony  Wright  and  Rich- 
ard Bourne,  a  committee  of  the  proprietors  of  the  town  of 
Sandwich.  In  1640,  the  meadow  lands  were  divided,  giv- 
ing to  each  in  proportion  to  his  "quality  and  condition." 
Robert  Bodfish  had  five  acres  assigned  to  him,  a  little  less 
than  an  average  amount. 

Jan'y  1,  1638-9,  Robert  Bodfish  "desired  to  become  a 
freeman  of  the  Plymouth  Colony ;  in  1641  he  tvas  a  sur- 
veyor of  highways;  in  1644  on  the  grand  jury,  and  the 
same  year  licensed  "to  draw  wine  in  Sandwich."  He  died 
in  1651,  leaving  a  wife  Bridget,  who  became  Dec  15,  1657, 
the  second  wife  of  Samuel  Hinckley  (the  father  of  Governor 
Thomas.)  He  had  a  son  Joseph,  born  in  Sandwich  April  3, 
1651,  a  daughter  Mary,  who  married  Nov.,  1659,  John 
Crocker,  and  Sarah,  who  married  June  21,  1663,  Peter 
Blossom,  and  a  son  Robert,  who  did  not  become  an  in- 
habitant of  Barnstable.  The  family  removed  to  Barnstable 
in  1657. 

Joseph,  the  ancestor  of  all  ot  the  name  in  Barnstable, 


GENEALOGICAL    NOTES    OF    BARNSTABLE    FAMILIES.  69 

married  Elizabeth  Besse,  daughter  of  Anthony  Besse,*  of 
Sandwich.  He  resided  at  West  Barnstable  ;  his  house  was 
on  r)ursley's  Lane,  (Proprietor's  Records),  on  the  farm 
owned  bj  the  late  Lemuel  Bursley,  and  died  Dec.  2,  1744, 
in  the  94th  year  of  his  age. 

When  he  was  eighteen,  Plymouth  had  been  settled  fifty 
years,  and  though  liberal  bounties  had  been  paid  to  English 
and  Indians  for  wolves'  heads,  yet  these  ravenous  animals 
abounded  in  the  Colony.  In  1654,  the  whole  number  killed 
was  nineteen — of  which  three  were  killed  in  Barnstable,  and 
in  1655,  thirty-one — nine  in  Barnstable.  In  1690,  the 
number  killed  was  thirteen,  and  in  1691,  nineteen.  Jona- 
than Bodfish  said  his  grandfather  could  set  a  trap,  as  cun- 
ningly as  the  oldest  Indians,  and  that  the  duck  or  the  goose 
that  ventured  to  come  within  gunshot  of  him,  rarely  escaped 
being  shot.  Wolf  Neck,  so  named  because  it  was  the  resort 
of  these  animals,  was  about  half  a  mile  from  Joseph  Bod- 
fish's  house,  and  there  he  set  his  traps.  Once  he  narrowly 
escaped  losing  his  own  life.  Seeing  a  large  wolf  in  his  trap, 
he  incautiously  approached  with  a  rotten  pine  pole  in  his 
hand.  He  struck — the  pole  broke  in  his  hand,  and  the  en- 
raged beast  sprang  at  him  with  the  trap  and  broken  chain 
attached  to  his  leg.  Mr.  Bodfish  stepped  suddenly  one  side, 
and  the  wolf  passed  by  him.  Before  the  wolf  could  recover, 
Mr.  Bodfish  was  beyond  his  reach.  This  trap  is  preserved 
in  his  family  as  an  heir-loom. 

♦Anthony  Besse,  born  in  1609.  Came  over  in  the  James,  1636,  from 
London,  settled  in  Lynn  and  removed  to  Sandwicli  in  1637,  and  was 
many  years  a  preacher  to  the  Indians.  He  died  in  1657,  leaving  wife 
Jane,  and  children  Nehemiah :  David,  born  May  23,  1649,  killed  in  the 
Rehobeth  battle  March  26,  1676 ;  Ann,  who  was  the  wife  of  Andrew 
Hallet,  Jr.,  of  Yarmouth ;  Mary ;  and  Elizabeth  who  married  Joseph 
Bodfish. 

His  widow  married,  second,  George  Barlow,  and  had  by  him  John, 
who  has  descendants,  and  Rebecca  who  married  William  Hunter.  The 
widow  Barlow  died  in  1693.  Her  last  marriage  was  an  unhappy  con- 
nection. Barlow  was  appointed  June  1,  1658,  Marshal  of  Sandwich, 
Barnstable  and  Yarmouth.  His  name  adds  no  honor  to  the  annals  of 
the  Old  Colony — a  hard-hearted,  intolerant,  tyrannical  man,  abusing  the 
power  entrusted  to  him,  and  seemingly  taking  delight  in  confiscating  the 
property  of  innocent  men  and  women,  or  in  dragging  them  to  prison,  to 
the  stocks,  or  the  whipping  post. 

In  his  family  he  exercised  the  same  tyrannical  spirit,  and  it  is  not  sur- 
prising that  the  aid  of  the  magistrate  was  frequently  called  into  requi- 
sition to  settle  the  difficulties  that  arose.  The  reader  of  the  Colony  rec- 
ords may  think  the  Besses  were  not  the  most  amiable  of  women — per- 
haps they  were  not;  but  in  these  family  quarrels  Barlow  was  in  fault, 
and  deserving  of  the  infamy  yhich  will  forever  attach  to  his  name. 


70  GENEALOGICAL    NOTES    OF    BARNSTABLE    FAMILIES. 

Some  years  after  a  wolf  was  followed  by  hunters  from 
Wareham  to  Barnstable,  and  they  wished  Mr.  Bodfish  to 
join  them,  but  he  declined.  Having  studied  the  habits  of 
the  animal,  he  felt  certain  it  would  return  on  the  same  track. 
Taking  his  gun  he  went  into  the  woods,  concealed  himself 
within  gunshot  on  the  leeward  side  of  the  track,  and  waited 
for  the  return  of  the  wolf.  He'  was  not  disappointed,  the 
wolf  at  last  appeared  and  was  shot.  He  returned  to  his 
house,  and  soon  after  the  ^^'areham  hunters  came  in  and  re- 
ported that  they  had  followed  the  wolf  to  the  lower  part  of 
Yarmouth,  and  the  dogs  had  there  lost,  the  track,  and  they 
gave  up  the  pursuit.  They  felt  a  little  chagrined  when  the 
dead  body  of  the  wolf  was  shown  to  them. 

All  his  sons,  excepting  Benjamin,  were  good  gunners. 
Wolf  hunting,  however,  was  not  a  sport  in  which  they  en- 
gaged. It  is  said  that  the  last  woH"  killed  in  Barnstable  was 
shot  by' Joseph  Bodfish ;  but  this  story  requires  confirma- 
tion. 

Joseph  Bodfish*  joined  the  Church  in  Barnstable,  Feb. 
12,  1689,  N.  S.,  and  "his  wife  Elizabeth  on  the  Itith  July 
following.  His  seven  children,  Benjamin,  Ebenezer,  Nathan, 
Robert,  Elizabeth  and  Melatiah,  were  baptized  March  26, 
1699,  and  his  daughter  Sarah,  April  6,  1700. 

Children  born  in  Barnstable. 

\  <■ 

I.  John,  born    Dec.    2,  1675.     Removed  to  Sandwiah,r 

where  he.  has  descendants.     He  married  Sarah  'N-j^r' 
May  24','  17Q.4,  and  had  Mary,March_9, 1705-6  ;'John, 
Feb.   5  •  1708,'9  ;  Hannahv  Sept.    23,  1711 ;  Joantia, 
..     0*1    22;   1714;  Sarah,  March    21,1717;  Elizabeth', 
.    ;/,  March:.30,  1720.;  Joseph,  Sept.  20,-1725. 
n.'       Joseph,    born    Oct.    1677,    married    Oct.    11,   1712, 
.  „,■      Thankful.-Blnsh^  daughter  of  Joseph.     He   was  not 
-':       liykg  in  I'735.  .;  ■  • 

HI;-     MarY,  born  March  1,  1679-80,  married  Josiah  Swift, 

.!;-::^  of.S.;.  Apiifis,  1706..  .: 

IV;  "\  Hannah,  born  May,  1681,  married  Richard  Thomas. 
He  had  baptized  Dec.  4,  1715,  Peleg,  Ebenezer  and 
Ann.     The  children  of  Richard  and  Hannah  recorded, 

♦Erroneously  printed  "Bradford''  in  the  Genealogical  Register  for 
1856,  page  350.  Elizabeth,  his  wife,  was  baptized  on  the  day  she  was  ad- 
mitted to  the  Church— a  fact  perhaps  not  without  significance  in  the 
history  of  the  Besses. 


GENEALOGICAL    NOTES    OF    BARNSTABLE    FAMILIES.  71 

are  Annt;,  born  June  15,  1715,  aud  Joseph,  born 
Aug.  24,  1721.  His  son  Ebenezer  and  grandson 
Nathan,  had  families  resident  iu  Barnstable.  Joseph 
Boddsh,  Sen.,  calls  Ebenezer  Thomas  his  grandson. 

V.  Benjamin,  born  July  20,  l(iS3,  married  Nov.  lU,  1709, 
Lydia  Crocker,  daughter  of  Jonathan,  He  died  in 
1760,  i^ged  77.  He  was  an  active  man,  and  may  be 
called  the  founder  of  the  Bodtish  family  of  recent 
times.  He  bought  for  £100,  by  a  deed  from  bis 
father-in-law,  Jonathan  Crocker,  dated  Oct.  2(1,  171o, 
one-half  of  the  twenty-acre  lot  and  meadow  which 
the  latter  bought  of  his  father,  John  Crocker,  includ- 
ing the  dwelling-house  then  standing  thereon.  This 
tract  of  land  is  situated  on  the  east  of  Scorton  Hill, 
and  is  bounded  southerly  by  the  County  road.  Jt 
was  a  part  of  the  great  lot  of  Abraham  Blush,  con- 
taining fifty  acres,  and  sold  by  him  Feb.  10,  1()()8, 
to  John  Crocker,  Sen.,  and  by  him  given  in  his  will 
to  children  of  his  brother,  Dea.  \V''illiam  Crocker,  of 
whom  the  John  Crocker,  first  named,  was  one.  The 
house  above  mentioned,  a  high,  single  house,  with  a 
leantoo,  \Yas  occupied  by  Benjamin  Bod  fish  and  his 
son  Jonathan  till  1809,  when  it  was  taken  down,  and 
the  present  Bodfish  house  built  on  the  same  spot. 

VI.  Nathan,  born  Dec.  27,  1685.  He  married  Abigail 
Bursley,  daughter  of  John.  She  died  March  '61, 
1739,  in  the  49th  year  of  her  age,  and  is  called  on 
her  grave-stones  at  West  Barnstable,  the  wife  of 
Nathaniel.  I  find  no  record  of  his  family,  and  tradi- 
tion says  he  had  no  children.  A  Nathan  Bodfish 
married  Patience  Hathaway,  and  had  Abigail,  July 
10,  1756,  and  Patience,  Dec.  10,  1761.  But  this 
man  was  perhaps  a  son  of  Robert,  by  his  first  wife. 

Vn.  Ebenezer,  born  March  10,  1687-8,  removed  to  \A'ood- 
bridge,  N.  J.,  where  he  died  unmarried  in  1739,  and 
bequeathed  his  estate  by  will  to  his  brother  Benjamin, 
who  was  executor,  and  to  his  sisters  Hannah  Thomas 
and  Mary  Swift. 

\^in.  Elizabeth,  born  Aug.  27,  1690,  married  and  had  a 
family — not  living  in  1735. 

IX.  Rebecca,  born  Feb.  22,  1692-3,  married  Benjamin 
Fuller,  March  25,  1714.  She  died  March  10,  1727-8, 
leaving  a  family. 


72  GENEALOGICAL   NOTES    OF   BARNSTABLE    FAMILIES. 

X.  Melatiah,  bora  April  17,  1669,  married  Samuel  Ffil- 
ler,  June  20,  1725-6.  ""^ 

XI.  Robert,  born  Oct.  10,  1698.  He  was  published  in 
1729,  to  Jemima  Nye  of  Sandwich.  He  afterwards 
married  Dec.  10,  1739,  Elizabeth  Hadaway,  and  had 
Elizabeth,  Sept.  11,  1741,  and  Ebenezer,  Feb.  15, 
1743-4. 

XH.     Sarah,  born  Feb.  20,  1700,  married  March  8,  1726-7, 
Joseph  Smith,  Jr.,  his  second  wife,  by  whom  she  had 
Sarah,  born  Jan'y  22,  1727-8. 
Joseph   Bodtish,  son  of  Joseph,  born  Oct.   1677,  mar- 
ried 11th  Oct.  1712,. Thankful,  daughter  of  Joseph  Blush  of 
West  Barnstable. 

Children  born  in  Barnstable. 

I.  Elizabeth,  6th  Sept.,  1713,  married  Eben  Goodsp^ed, 
3d,  Sept.  29,  1736. 

II.  Hannah,  18th  July,  1716,  married  Samuel  Blossom, 
Oct.  28,  1744. 

III.  Mary,  17th  June,  1719,  married  Joseph  Nye  of  Sand- 
wich, Dec.  10,  1741. 

IV.  Joseph,  8th  March,  1722,  married  Mehetabel  Good- 
speed,  1749.  He  resided  at  West  Barnstable,  and 
had  Mary,  Hannah,  Thankful,  Lydia  and  Euth,  twins, 
Thankful  again,  Elizabeth  and  Joseph. 

V.  Thankful,  6th  June,  1724,  married  Peter  Conant, 
May  4,  1741. 

Benjamin  Bodfish,  son  of  Joseph,  born  20th  July,  1683, 
married  Lydia  Crocker,  10th  Nov.  1709. 

Children  born  in  Barnstable. 

I.  Sylvanus,  2d  Sept.,  1710,  married  Mary  Smith,  Dec. 
20,  1738. 

II.  Hannah,  12th  Feb.,  1712,  married  Caleb  Nye  of 
Sandwich. 

III.  Thankful,  19th  Feb.,  1714,  married  Joseph  Shelly  of 
Ray  n  ham. 

IV.  Solomon,  20th  March,  1716,  married  Hannah  Burs- 
ley,  Jr. 

V.  Joseph,  16th  April,  1718,  married  and  had  a  family. 

VI.  Benjamin,  18th  March,  1720. 

VII.  Lydia,  baptized  9th  Juno,  1723. 

VIII.  Rachel,  baptized  Jan'ry,  1725-6. 


GENEALOGICAL    NOTES    OF    BARNSTABLE    FAMILIES.  73 

IX.  Jonathan,  born  10th  Aug.,  1727,  married  Desire 
Howland,  May  3,  1753.  He  died  Jan'y  1818,  aged 
91,  and  his  wife  April  1813,  aged  81.  The  farm  ot 
Mr.  Jonathan  Bodfish  and  his  sons,  at  the  time  of  his 
death,  consisted  of  six  hundred  acres  of  tillage,  mead- 
ow and  woodland.  They  had  all  their  property  in 
common,  and  at  the  end  of  each  year  invested  their 
surplus  earnings  in  real  estate.  They  were  farmers, 
raising  large  crops — often  400  bushels  of  Indian  corn 
in  a  season — and  of  other  agricultural  products,  a 
proportional  amount.  They  usually  kept  50  head  of 
cattle  and  120  sheep.  Benjamin  was  a  ca,rpenter  and 
mason,  and  a  very  skillful  workman.  Isaac  lived 
thirteen  years  with  Edward  Wing,  receiving  from 
$10  to  $13  per  month  as  wages.  It  is  said  of  him, 
that  during  all  this  time,  his  idle  expenses  amounted 
to  only  20  cents.  The  earnings  of  both  were  put 
into  the  common  stock.  For  more  than  seventy 
years  the  property  of  Jonathan  Bodfish  was  owned  in 
common,  and  during  the  whole  time  nothing  occurred 
to  disturb  the  harmony  and  good  feeling  which  sub- 
sisted between  the  different  members  of  the  family. 
They  were  hai'd- working,  prudent  and  industrious ; 
and  in  all  their  dealings  were  honest  and  honorable. 
Jonathan,  the  father,  was  treasurer,  and  all  deeds, 
excepting  enough  to  make  his  sons  voters  and  qualify 
them  for  holding  civil  offices,  were  taken  in  his  name. 
Jonathan  Bodfish,  the  father  of  this  remarkable  fam- 
ily, was  a  venerable  old  man — the  patriarch  of  his 
family.  In  person  he  was  nearly  six  feet  tall,  large 
and  well  proportioned,  weighing  ordinarily  230 
pounds.  His  sons,  excepting  Josiah,  were  over  six 
feet,  large  boned,  spare  men,  and  in  personal  appear- 
ance, would  hardly  be  recognized  as  belonging  to  the 
same  family  with  Jonathan. 
The  children  of  Jonathan  Bodfish  born  in  Barnstable 

were 

I.  Sylvanus,  born  Nov.  15,  1754;  died  in  1801,  aged 
47.  He  did  not  marry,  and  his  estate  was  a  part  of 
the  common  stock. 

II.  Benjamin,  born  April  14,  1756,  died  Jan'y  14,  1827, 
aged  70.  He  was  a  carpenter,  mason  and  farmer ; 
did  not  marry,  and  his  estate  was  also  a  part  of  the 


74         GENEALOGICAL    NOTES    OF    BARNSTABLE    FAMILIES. 

common  stock. 

III.  John,  born  March  16,  1761,  married  Mary,  daughter 
of  Joseph  Smith,  and  had  a  family  .  He  was  for 
many  years  one  of  the  selectmen  of  Barnstable.  He 
died  Aug.  1847,  aged  86,  and  his  wife  in  1849. 

IV.  Isaac,  born  July  22,  1763,  married  Elizabeth  Bod- 
fish,  and  had  a  family.  He  died  Aug.  30,  1837, 
aged  74. 

V.  Josiah,  born  Nov.  8,  1765;  died  Oct.  8,  1845,  aged 
80.     He  did  not  marry. 

VI.  Deborah,  born  June  11,  1768,  married  Benjamin 
Goodspeed. 

VII.  Simeon,  born  Feb.  10,  1771 ;  died  young. 

VIII.  Alice,  born  about  1773 ;  did  not  marry,  and  died 
April  21,  1854,  aged  81. 

Some  members  of  the  Bodfish  family  removed  to  New 
York,  New  Jersey  and  other  places,  and  their  connection 
with  the  Barnstable  stock  can  be  easily  traced. 


BLOSSOM. 


Deacon  Thomas  Blossom,  one  of  the  Pilgrims,  and  the 
ancestor  of  the  Blossom  family  of  Barnstal)le,  came  from 
Leyden  to  Plymouth,  England ;  hut  being  on  board  the 
Speedwell,  did  not  obtain  a  [)assage  in  the  Mayflower  from 
England  in  1620.  He  returned  to  Leyden  to  encourage  the 
emigration  of  the  residue  of  Mr.  liobinson's  Church.  He 
came  over  in  1629,  with  Mr.  Higginson  and  others,  who 
were  bound  to  Salem.  Judge  Mitchell  says  he  was  first 
deacon  of  the  Church  in  Plymouth,  and  his  letter  to  Gov. 
Bradford  gives  evidence  that  he  was  a  well  educated  and  a 
pious  man.  He  died  in  Plymouth  in  the  year  1632.*  Of 
bis  family  no  record  has  been  preserved.  He  had  a  son  in 
1620,  who  went  to  England  with  him  and  returned  to  Ley- 
den ;  but  was  not  living  Dec.  1625.  At  the  latter  date  he 
had  two  other  children,  but  their  names  are  not  recorded. 
Circumstantial  evidence  proves,  beyond  a  reasonable  doubt, 
that  he  had  two  sons  who  survived  him  ;  Thomas,  who  was 
sixteen  or  over  in  1643,  and  Peter  who  was  younger. 

Anna,  the  widow  of  Dea.  Thomas  Blossom,  married 
Henry  Rowley,  Oct.  17,  1633.  They  were  members  of 
Mr.  Lothrop's  Church  at  its  organization,  Jan'ry  8,  1634-5, 
and  removed  with  him  to  Barnstable  in  1639.  Thomas  and 
Peter  came  to  Barnstable  with  their  mother,  and  were  prob- 
ably members  of  the  family  of  their  father-in-law.     Thomas 


*The  date  of  the  death  of  Deacon  Blossom  is  uncertain.  Gov.  Brad- 
ford, who  was  his  contemporary,  says  he  died  of  tiie  malignant  fever 
which  pervaded  in  the  summer  of  1633.  The  accurate  Prince  copies 
Gov.  Bradford's  statementj  and  the  caro-tul  Mr.  Savage  refers  to  Prince 
as  his  authority.  Judge  Mitchel  says  "about  1633."  Notwitlistanding 
this  array  of  authorities  it  can  perhaps  be  demonstrated  that  Dea.  Blos- 
som died  in  1632.  In  the  tax  lists  for  the  town  of  Plymouth,  dated  Jan'y 
12, 1633,  N.  S.,  (1632  O.  S.),  Dea.  Thomas  Blossom  is  not  taxed ;  but  the 
Wid.  Blossom  is.  The  record  now  existing  was  made  in  March  1632-3, 
and  proves  conclusively  that  Dea.  Blossom  was  dead  when  that  record 
was  made. 


76  GENEALOGICAL    NOTES    OF    BARNSTABLE    FAMILIES. 

was  a  landholder  in  1647,  and  he  and  his  brother  Peter  had 
a  lot  granted  to  them  in  partnership  at  Cotuit.  Thomas 
does  not  appear  to  have  been  a  householder.  He  resided  in 
the  easterly  part  of  the  town,  and  after  his  marriage,  proba- 
bly at  the  house  of  Thomas  Lothrop,  who  was  father-in-law 
to  his  wife.  He  was  a  mariner,  and  at  the  time  of  his  death, 
April  22,  1650,  was  on  a  fishing  voyage. 

Peter  removed  with  his  fathei'-in-law  to  West  Barnsta- 
ble about  the  year  1650.  His  farm,  containing  forty  acres 
of  upland,  was  on  the  east  of  the  Bursley  farm,  and  separa- 
ted from  it  by  Boat  Cove  and  the  stream  of  fresh  water  emp- 
tying into  it.  On  the  northeast  it  was  bounded  by  Thomas 
Sharv's  marsh  and  the  land  of  Henry  Rowley,  and  on  the 
southeast  by  the  farm  of  Mr.  Thomas  Dexter,  Sen'r.  He 
owned  twelve  acres  of  meadow.  A  part  of  his  land  is  now 
owned  by  his  descendants. 

Children  of  Deacon   Thomas  Blossom  born  in  Leyden. 

I.  A  son,  who  died  before  Dec.  1625. 

II.  Thomas,  born  about  the  year  1620,  married  June  18, 
1645,  by  Major  John  Freeman,  to  Sarah  Ewer,  at  the 
house  of  Thomas  Lothrop  in  Barnstable.  She  was  a 
daughter  of  Thomas  Ewer,  deceased,  of  Charlestown, 
and  was  then  residing  with  her  mother.  He  and  another 
Barnstable  man,  Samuel  Hallet,  were  drowned  at  Nau- 
set,  April  22,  1650.  He  left  one  child,  a  daughter 
named  "Sara,"  and  had,  perhaps,  a  posthumous  son 
named  Peter. 

JH.  Peter,  born  after  the  year  1627,  married  Sarah  Bodfish, 
June  21,  1663.  He  resided  at  West  Barnstable,  was  a 
farmer,  and  died  about  1700,  intestate.  His  estate  was 
settled  Oct.  5,  1706,  by  mutual  agreement  between  his 
widow  Sarah  and  sons  Thomas,  Joseph  and  Jabez,  and 
daughters  Thankful  Fuller  and  Mercy  Howland.  His 
children  born  in  Barnstable  were  : 

I.  Mercy,  born  9th  April,  1664;  died  in  1670. 

II.  Thomas,  born   20th   Dec,  1667,  married   Dec.    1695, 
Fear  Robinson.     He  resided  at  West  Barnstable. 

III.  Sarah,  born  1669;  died  1671. 

IV.  Joseph,  born  10th  Dec.  1673,  married  Marv  Pinchon, 
17th  June,  1696. 

V.  Thankful,  born  1675,  married  Joseph  Fuller,  1700. 


GENEALOGICAL    NOTES    OF    BARNSTABLE    FAMILIES.  77 

VI.  Mary,    born    Aug.  1678,  married    Shubael   Rowland, 
Dec.  13,  1700. 

VII.  Jabez,  born    16th    Feb..   1680,   married  Mary  Good- 
speed,  9th  Sept.  1710. 

Thomas  Blossom,  son  of  Peter,  married  Dec.  1695, 
Fear,  daughter  of  John  Robinson  of  Falmouth,  and  a  great- 
grand-daughter  of  Rev.  John  Robinson  of  Leyden.  His 
children  born  in  Barnstable  were  : 

I.  Peter,  born  28th  Aug.  1698,  married  Hannah  Isum, 
June  9,  1720.  According  to  the  town  record  he  had 
an  only  son,  Seth,  born  15th  March,  1721-2.  Seth 
married  Jan'ry  8,  1746-7,  Sarah  Churchill  of  Sand- 
wich, and  second  Abigail  Crocker  of  Barnstable,  Jan'ry 
10,  1754.  Children— Churchill,  15th  Oct.  1749  ;  David, 
12th  Jan'ry,  1755;  Peter,  4th  Dec.  1756;  Abigail, 
10th  May,  1760  ;  Seth,  4th  Dec.  1763 ;  Hannah,  15th 
Aug.  1766;  Levi,  15th  April,  1772,  who  removed  to 
Bridge  water. 

II.  John,  born  17th'  April,  1699,  married  April  6,  1726, 
Thankful  Burgess  of  Yarmouth,  and  had  two  children 
born  in  Yarmouth.  Fear,  Feb.  3d,  1730-1,  and  Thank- 
ful, March  5th,  1732-3. 

III.  Sarah,  born  16th  Dec.  1703;  died  young. 

IV.  Elizabeth,  born  Oct.  1705,  married  July  1,  1725,  Israel 
Butler. 

V.  Sarah,  30th  July,  1709,  married  James  Case  of  Leba- 
non, Sept.  23,  1736. 

Joseph  Blossom,  son  of  Peter,  married  17th  June,  1696, 
Mary  Pinchon.  She  died  April  6,  1706,  and  he  married 
second,  Mary  . 

Children  born  in  Barnstable. 

I.  A  child,  born  14th  March,  1696-7  ;  died  March,  1696-7. 

II.  A  son,  born  May,  1702  ;  died  May,  1702. 

III.  Joseph,  born  14th  March,  1703-4,  married  Temperance 
Fuller,  March  30,  1727.  Children  born  in  Barnstable : 
Lydia,  19th  March,  1729,  married  Matthias  Fuller, 
1765;  James,  born  9th  Feb.  1731,  married  Jan'ry  19, 
1758,  Bethia  Smith  ;  Sarah,  14th  Oct.  1734,  and  Mary, 
14th  Sept.  1736. 

IV.  A  son.  May  1705  ;  died  June,  1705. 

V.  Mary,  11th  Dec.  1709,  married  Joseph  Bates  of  Mid- 
dleborough.  1743. 


78     GENEALOGICAL  NOTES  OF  BARNSTABLE  FAMILIES. 

VI.  Thankful,  25th  March,  1711 ;  married  Ebeu'r  Thomas, 

Dec.  8,  1736. 

Jabez  Blossom,  son  of  Peter,  married  9th  of  Sept.  1710, 
Mercy  Goodspeed. 

Children  born  in  Barnstable. 

I.  Sylvanus,  born  20th  Jan'ry,  1713,  married  Charity  Snell, 
1738,  and  settled  in  South  Bridgewater.  His  grandson 
Alden  went  to  Turner,  Maine,  where  he  was  a  general 
and  high-sheriff. 

Sylvanus  is  the  only  child  of  Jabez  recorded  ;  but  there 
was  a  Jabez  Blossom,  Jr.,  who  married  May  17,  1739, 
Hannah  Backhouse  of  Sandwich  ;  also,  a  Ruth,  who  married 
June  8,  1738,  Sylvanus  Barrows. 

In  addition  to  the  above,  there  was  a  Peter  Blossom, 
born  as  early  as  1680,  who  was  entitled  to  a  share  in  the 
division  of  lands  in  1703.  If  he  was  a  son  of  Peter,  son  of 
Dea.  Thomas,  it  is  difficult  to  account  for  the  omission  of 
his  name  on  the  town  and  probate  records.  Perhaps  he  was 
a  son  of  Thomas,  Jr.  None  of  the  Blossoms,  excepting  the 
deacon,  appear  to  have  been  church  members,  consequently 
their  children's  names  do  not  appear  on  the  church  records. 

There  was  a  Samuel  Blossom  of  Barnstable,  who  mar- 
ried Hannah  Bodfish,  Oct.  28,  1744,  and  had  Thankful,  5th 
Sept.  1745  ;  Joseph,  28th  Oct.  1747  ;  Samuel  and  Hannah, 
twins,  24th  Jan'ry,  1752,  and  Mehitable,  23d  June,  1753. 
The  mother  of  this  family  was  a  church  member. 

There  was  also  a  Benjamin  Blossom  of  Sandwich,  pub- 
lished Dec.  22d,  1750,  to  Elizabeth  Linnell,  and  married  Oct. 
31,1751,  Bathsheba  Percival,  and  had  one  son  born  in  Barn- 
stable, Benjamin,  18th  Aug.  1753. 

James  Blossom,  son  of  Joseph,  married  Jan'ry  19th, 
1758,  Bethia  Smith,  and  had  children  born  in  Barnstable : 
James,  Feb.  3,  1760  ;  Temperance.  Oct.  1761;  Matthias, 
Sept.  12,  1765;  Lucretia,  Oct.  8,  1768,  and  Asenath,  Aug. 
30,  1770. 

There  was  also  a  Thomas  Blossom  of  Yarmouth,  who 
married  Thankful  Paddock,  1749,  and  had  five  children 
born  in  Yarmouth,  namely  :  Enos,  Aug.  18,  1750  ;  Thomas, 
March  11,  1753;  Thankful,  Jan'y  6,  1756;  Sarah,  July 
13th,  1758,  and  Ezra,  May  10,  1761. 

Benjamin  Blossom,  of  Sandwich,  by  his  wife  Elizabeth, 
had  Sarah.  Oct.  23.  1752:  Mary,  Nov.  27.  1757  ;  Meribah, 


GENEALOGICAL    NOTES    OF    BARNSTABLE    FAMILIES.  79 

Jan'y  27,  1760. 

Mehitable,  wife  of  Joseph  Blossom,  of  Cushnet,  died 
Mai-ch  16,  1771,  aged  80  years,  6  mos.,  and  10  days. 

Benjamin,  of  Acushnet,  died  Oct.  25th,  1797,  aged  76, 
who  had  by  his  wife  Rebecca,  Levi,  who  died  May  8th, 
1785,  aged  8  1-2  months. 


Note. — Some  of  the  Blossoms  lived  in  Sandwich,  a  fact  that  I  was  not 
aware  of  when  I  commenced  writing  this  article.  A  consultation  of  the 
records  of  that  town,  will,  I  presume,  enable  those  interested  to  flU  up 
the  gaps  in  this  genealogy. 


THOMAS  BOURMAN. 


This  name  is  written  on  the  records  Bourmaii,  Burman 
and  Boreman.  Some  of  his  descendants  write  it  Bowman, 
others  Bowerman.  Thomas  Boardman's  name  is  written 
Boardman  and  Boreman.  In  some  cases  it  is  difficult  to 
decide  which  man  is  intended.  Thomas  Boreman  was  taxed 
in  Plymouth  in  1633,  and  in  the  following  year  contracted 
to  repair  the  fort  on  the  hill  which  was  a  wooden  structure, 
and  Thomas  Boardman  being  a  carpenter,  I  infer  that  he 
was  the  man  intended.  A  Thomas  Boreman  was  a  freeman 
of  Massachusetts,  March  4,  1634,  and  a  representative  from 
Ipswich,  1636.  It  has  been  supposed  that  he  removed  to 
Barnstable,  but  I  think  it  very  doubtful.  Thomas  Bourman 
of  Barnstable  could  not  write,  and  though  one  of  the  first 
settlers,  he  was  not  admitted  to  be  a  townsman  for  some 
reason  ;  perhaps  he  favored  the  Quakers.  It  is  not  proba- 
ble that  the  inhabitants  of  Ipswich  would  have  selected  such 
a  man  for  their  representative.  Again,  Bourman  was  in 
aftertimes  a  common  name  in  that  town,  and  there  is  no  evi- 
dence whatever  that  Thomas  of  Ipswich  removed. 

Thomas  Bourman  was  of  Barnstable  in  1643.  He  re- 
sided at  West  Barnstable,  on  a  farm  on  the  South  side  of 
the  cove  of  meadow,  at  the  head  of  Bridge  Creek.  It  is 
thus  described  on  the  town  records  : 

1.  Twenty-five  acres  of  upland,  be  it  more  or  less, 
butting  northerly  upon  ye  marsh,  easterly  upon  a  brook, 
and  westerlj'  upon  a  brook,  and  so  running  eighty  rods 
southerly  into  ye  woods. 

2.  Sixteen  acres  of  marsh,  more  or  less,  bounded 
westerly  partly  by  John  Jenkins,  and  partly  by  a  ditch  cast 
up  between  Abraham  Blush  and  him  ;  northerly,  partly  by 
ye  highway,  and  partly  bj'  Gdd.  Blush,  easterly,  partly  by 
ye  great  swamp  and  partly  by  Gdd.  Blush's,  his  marsh. 

3.  Five  acres  of  upland,  more  or  less,  butting  north- 


GENEALOGICAL    NOTES    OF    BARNSTABLE    FAMILIES.  81 

erly  upon  ye  marsh,  southerly  upon  a  foot-path,  easterly 
upon  a  flashy  swamp,  westerly  upon  his  own  land. 

The  above  described  land  and  meadow  with  his  dwelling 
house  thereon,  he  sold  28th  Oct.  1662,  to  Robert  Parker 
for  £78.  Bourman  signed  this  deed  with  his  mark;  his 
will  is  signed  in  the  same  manner  ;  but  the  latter  would  not 
be  evidence  that  the  testator  was  never  able  to  write. 

He  was  a  surveyor  of  highways  in  1648,  and  a  grand 
juror  in  1650,  and  was  a  proprietor  of  the  lands  in  Sucka- 
nesset,  now  Falmouth.  He  died  in  1663,  and  is  called  of 
Barnstable  at  the  time  of  his  death. 

Children  born  in  JBarnstable. 

He  married  10th  of  March,  1644-5.  Hannah,  daughter 
of  Anthony  Annable,  and  his  children  born  in  Barnstable 
were 

I.  Hannah,  May  1646. 

II.  Thomas,  Sept.  1648,  married  Mary  Harper,  April  9, 
1678. 

HI.     Samuel,    July,    1651,  slain   at   Rehobeth,  March  26, 
1676. 

IV.  Desire,  ^lay  1654. 

V.  Mary,  March  1656. 

VI.  Mehitablc,  Sept.  1658. 

VII.  Tristram,  Aug.  1661. 

This  family  removed  to  Falmouth.  They  eai'ly  joined 
the  Friends.  Thomas,  22d  April,  1690,  bought  of  Jonathan 
Hatch,  Senior,  and  Robert  Harper,  agents  of  the  inhabitants 
of  Suckanesset,  one  hundred  acres  of  land  formerly  John 
Robinson's,  described  as  situate  on  the  easterly  side  of  the 
"Five  Mile  River,"  bounded  from  the  head  of  the  river  on  a 
straight  line  to  the  pond,  northerly  by  the  pond  and  south- 
erly by  the  river.  One  acre  to  be  on  the  south  easterly  side 
of  the  road  that  leads  from  the  river  to  Sandwich. 

Samuel  Bourman  was  a  soldier  in  King  Philip's  war 
from  Barnstable,  and  was  slain  at  Rehobeth  March  26,  1676. 
In  the  same  battle  Lieut.  Samuel  Fuller,  John  Lewis,  Elea- 
zer  Clapp,  Samuel  Linnet  and  Samuel  Childs  of  Barnstable 
were  also  killed. 

Thomas  Bourman  was  town  clerk  of  Falmouth  1702, 
1704   and   1705.     March    26,  1691,  Thomas   Bourman   and 


82  GENEALOGICAL    NOTES    OF    BARNSTABLE    FAMILIES. 

William  Wyatt,  a  committee  to  laj^  out  lands  at  Woods 
Hole. 

The  following  account  of  the  family  after  the  removal 
to  Falmouth,  collected  by  Mr.  Neweir  Hoxie  of  Sandwich, 
from  ancient  papers,  is  the  best  I  have  been  able  to  obtain. 
The  illumination  of  dates  would  made  it  more  intelligible  : 

Thomas  Bourman,  though  belonging  to  the  Society  of 
Friends,  was  taxed  for  the  support  of  the  ministrj-  in  the 
town  of  Falmouth.  All  non-conformists  were  then  required 
to  pay  a  double  tax,  one  to  their  own  society  and  one  to  the 
settled  minister  of  the  town.  Many  resisted  this  law  as 
tyrannical  and  oppressive,  and  of  this  number  was  Thomas 
Bourman.  In  the  winter  of  1705-6,  he  was  committed  to 
Barnstable  Jail  for  non-payment  of  a  ministerial  tax.  On 
the  4th  of  the  11th  mo.,  1705-6,  the  Friends  monthly  meet- 
ing, held  at  the  house  of  William  Allen  in  Sandwich,  ordered 
"A  bed  and  bedding  to  be  sent  to  Thomas  Bourman,  he  be- 
ing in  prison  for  the  priest's  rate."  The  following  distraints 
was  subsequently  made  of  his  property  to  pay  his  taxes  to 
Rev.  Joseph  Metcalf,  of  Falmouth,  one  whose  ministry 
neither  himself  nor  his  family  attended  : 

19th,  3d  mo.  1709—2  cows,  worth  £5,  for  £3,  12s.  U. 
tax. 

13th,  3d  mo. — 1  cow  and  calf,  worth  £2,  2s.  tax. 

22d,  3d  mo. — 1  cow  worth  £3,  10s.  for  £1,  13s.  tax. 

24th,  1st  mo.  1710—1  cow  worth  £2,  14s.  for  £1,  17s. 
tax. 

17th,  1st  mo.  1715—1  cow  worth  £3,  10s.  for  £l,  3s. 
Id.  tax. 

9th,  1715—1  fat  swine  worth  £3,  00,  for  £1  tax. 

21st,  nth  mo.  1716—2  calves  worth  £2,  10s.  for  £1, 
25.  M. 

lOtb,  3d  mo.  1728—5  sheep  worth  £2,  10s.  for  £0, 
16s.  tax. 

30th,  3d  mo.  1728—12  lbs.  wool  worth  £1,  10s.  for 
£0,  16s.  \0d. 

As  these  distraints  were  made  by  different  constables, 
the  presumption  is  that  the  three  first  named  were  for  taxes 
of  former  years. 

His  son,  Thomas  Bowman,  also,  refused  to  pay  his 
ministerial  tax,  and  in  1727  the  constable  seized  three  bush- 
els of  Malt,  worth   16s.  6ri.  to  pay  the   same.     On   the   2d 


GENEALOGICAL    NOTES    OF    BARNSTABLE    FAMILIES.  83 

oftheSdmo.  1728;  the  constable  seized  one  Linen  Wheel 
and  one  Bason,  worth  20  shillings. 

These  exactions  were  very  moderate  in  comparison-  with 
those  made  by  Constable  Barlow  half  a  century  earlier. 

Thomas  Bourman,  born  in  Barnstable,  Sept.  1648,  mar- 
ried Mary  Harper,  April  9,  1678.  Their  children  were 
Samuel ;  Thomas,  who  married  Jane  Harby  ;  Stephen,  who 
did  not  marry  ;  Benjamin,  who  married  Hannah ;  Han- 
nah, who  married  Nathan  Barlow  1719,  and  Wait,  who 
married  Benjamin  Allen,  1720. 

Thomas  Bourman,  son  of  the  second  Thomas,  resided 
at  West  Falmouth  on  the  estate  now  owned  by  Capt.  Nathan- 
iel Eldred.  He  married  Jane  Harby,  and  had  children : 
Ichabod ;  Judah,  who  married  Mary  Dillingham  1758  ;  Da- 
vid, married  Kuth  Dillingham  1751,  and  Hannah  Wing  1770  ; 
Silas,  married  second,  Lydia  Gilford ;  Joseph,  married  Rest 
Swift,  Sept.  17,  1766;  Sarah,  married  Melatiah  Gifford 
1743;  Jane,  married  Joseph  Bowman;  Elizabeth;  Peace, 
who  did  not  marry,  and  Deborah. 

Benjamin  Bourman.  son  of  Thomas  2d,  married  Han- 
nah  .     He  resided  at  Teeticket,  Falmouth,  was  a  man  of 

enterprise  and  wealth,  and  died  in  the  year  1743,  leaving 
sons  Daniel,  Samuel  and  Stephen,  and  a  daughter  "Rest,'" 
all  of  whom  belonged  to  the  Friends'  Meeting.  He  wrote 
his  name  Bowerman,  as  many  of  the  family  now  do.  In  the 
inventory  of  his  estate,  one-half  of  the  sloop  Falmouth  and 
one-eighth  of  the  sloop  Woods  Hole,  are  appraised.  His 
son  Stephen,  married  1756,  Hannah,  daughter  of  Caleb  and 
Reliance  Allen  ;  Samuel  married  three  wives ;  first,  1743, 
Rose  Landers;  second,  1746,  Jemimah  Wing;  third,  Oct. 
10,  1785,  Grace  Hoxie.  Daniel  married  Joanna,  daughter 
of  Simeon  Hathaway,  and  had  Barnabas,  grandfather  of  the 
present  Barnabas,  and  a  daughter  "Rest,"  who  rested  in 
single  life. 

Beside  those  mentioned  in  the  will  of  Benjamin  Bour- 
man, Mr.  Hoxie  says  he  had  a  son  Enos,  who  married  in 
1764,  Elizabeth,  daughter  of  Recompence  and  Lydia  Land- 
ei's ;  Joseph,  who  died  young;  Wait,  who  married  1741, 
Benjamin  Swift,  and  a  son  Benjamin,  who  married  in  1755, 
Elizabeth,  daughter  of  William  and  Mary  Gifford.  This 
Benjamin  lived  at  Teeticket.  His  children,  Elihu,  married 
Sept.    23,  1779,  Anny   Allen;  Harper,  who  married,  first. 


84  GENEALOGICAL    NOTES    OF    BAKNSTABLE    FAMILIES. 

Elizabeth  Shepherd,  and  second,  Meribah  Jones ;  Hannah, 
who  married  Eben  Allen  ;  Zacheus,  married  Sept.  26,  1810, 
Elizabeth  Wing;  Benjamin,  married  1796,  Phebe  Shepherd  ; 
Elizabeth;  Anna,  married  Abel  Hoxie ;  Samuel,  and  Eest 
who  married  Francis  Allen.  Several  of  this  family  lived  to 
a  great  age. 


BUMPAS. 


Edward  Bompasse  came  over  in  the  Fortune,  and  arrived 
at  Plymoutii  Nov.  10,  1621.  The  name  is  probably  the 
French  Bon  pas — a  similar  name  to  the  English  Goodspeed. 
At  the  division  of  the  land  in  1623,  and  of  the  cattle  in  1627, 
he  was  unmarried.  He  sold  land  in  Plymouth  in  1628,  and 
removed  to  Duxbury  and  there  bought  land  of  William  Pal- 
mer, on  which  he  built  a  house  and  -'palisado,"  which  he 
sold  to  John  Washburn  in  1634.  In  1640  he  was  of  Marsh- 
field,  and  was  living  at  Duck  Hill  in  that  town  in  1684. 

It  appears  that  he  married  about  the  time  he  removed 
to  Duxbury,  and  according  to  the  Marshfield  records  his 
wife  was  named  Hannah.  The  record  says  "Hannah,  widow 
of  old  Edward  Bumpas,  died  12th  Feb.  1693,"  and  that 
Edward  Bumpas  died  nine  days  before.  Mr.  Savage  sup- 
poses that  the  latter  record  refers  to  Edward  Bumpas,  Jr. 

This  Barnstable  family  descend  from  Thomas,  prob- 
ably the  youngest  son  ot  Edward,  the  pilgrim.  He  was  not 
a  proprietor,  and  I  do  not  find  that  he  was  admitted  an  in- 
habitant of  Barnstable.  He  and  his  son  Thomas  claimed  to 
be  proprietors,  but  the  lands  laid  out  to  them  in  1716,  were 
in  consideration  of  fifteen  shares  purchased  by  them  of  Lieut. 
John  Howland,  and  in  settlement  of  "their  whole  right  or 
pretence  to  any  claim  in  the  division  of  the  common  land  in 
Barnstable."  Thomas  Bumpas'  house  was  on  "Lovell's 
Way,"  in  Cokachoiset,  now  Osterville. 

Samuel  Bumpas'  house  was  at  Skonkonet,  now  called 
Bump's  river,  and  on  the  road  south  of  Thompson's 
bridge.  His  house  stood  near  the  cedar  swamp.  His  house 
lot  and  other  lands  in  the  vicinity  of  Thompson's  bridge, 
laid  out  to  him  in  1716,  was  for  one  share  he  bought  of  his 
brother-in-law  Samuel  Parker,  and  one  of  John  Howland. 


86  GENEALOGICAL    NOTES    OF    BARNSTABLE    FAMILIES. 

The  family  in  Barnstable  is  extinct,  but  the  descendants 
of  Edward  in  other  parts  of  the  country  are  very  numerous. 

No  record  has  been  preserved  of  the  family  of  the  first 
Edward.  His  children  as  well  as  can  now  be  ascertained 
were : 

I.  Faith,  born  1631. 

II.  Sarah,  married  March,  1659,  Thomas  Durham. 

HI.  John,  born  1636,  probably  the  oldest  son,  had  at 
Middleborough,  Mary,  born  1671  ;  John,  1673, 
Samuel,  1676;  James,  1678;  at  Rochester,  Sarah, 
16th  Sept.  1685;  Edward,  16th  Sept.  1688,  and 
Jeremiah,  24th  Aug.  1692.  I'he  latter  married 
Nov.  15,  1712,  Jane  Lovell  of  Barnstable.  The  fam- 
ily was  afterwards  in  Wareham. 

IV.  Edward,  born  1638.  Mr.  Savage  supposes  he  died 
in  Marshfield  in  1693. 

V.  Joseph,  born  1639,  first  of  Plymouth,  and  afterwards 
of  Middleborough.  Mr.  Winsor  in  his  history  of 
Duxbury  doubts  whether  Joseph  was  a  son  of  Ed- 
ward, though  he  puts  his  name  among  his  children. 
A  deed  of  land  recently  found  settles  this  question. 
He  was  a  son  of  Edward,  and  had  Lydia,  born  2d 
Aug.  1669  ;  Wybra,  15th  May,  1672  ;  Joseph,  25th 
Aug.  1674 ;  Rebecca,  17th  Dec.  1677  ;  James,  25th 
Dec.  1679;  Penelope,  2lst  Dec.  1681;  Mary,  12th 
Aug.  1684,  and  Mehitable,  21st  Jan'y,  1692. 

VI.  Jacob,  born  1644.  Mr.  Deane  says  he  was  of  Scit- 
uate  in  1676,  where  he  married  in  1677,  Elizabeth, 
widow  of   William   Blackmore,  and    had   Benjamin, 

1678,  and  Jacob,  1680.     Benjamin  had  nine  children, 
and  has  numerous  descendants. 

VII.  Hannah,  born  1646. 

VIII.  Philip.  Winsor  says  Philip  was  the  son  of  Edward, 
and  he  was  living  in  1677  ;  but  gives  no  additional 
information. 

IX.  Thomas,    born    about   the   year  1660,  married  Nov. 

1679,  Phebe,    eldest    daughter  of    John    Lovell   of 
Barnstable.     His  children  born  in  Barnstable  were  : 

Ghildren  born  in  Barnstable. 

I.  Hannah,  born  28th  July,  1680,  married  Samuel  Par- 

ker,   Dec.    12,    1695.     The   bride    was  15,  and  the 


GENEALOGICAL    NOTES    OF    BARNSTABLE   FAMILIES.         87 

bridegroom  35. 

II.  Jean,  born  Dec.  1681. 

III.  Mary,  born  April,  1683. 

IV.  Samuel,  born  Janr'y  1685,  married  Joanna  Warren, 
Aug.  1,  1717,  and  had  Sarah,  April  5,  1718,  married 
Samuel  Lothrop,  July  17,  1740;  Joanna,  May  15, 
1719,  married  Samuel  Hamblin,  Jr.,  Nov.  16,  1749  ; 
Jubez,  June  25,  1721;  Thomas,  March  20,  1722-3; 
John,  May  17,  1725  ;  Warren,  June  28,  1727  ;  Bethia, 
Aug.  23,  1729,  married  Seth  Phinney,  Oct.  26,  1748  ; 
Mary,  Jan'y  1,  1731-2,  and  Phebe,  April  21,  1734. 

V.  Thomas,  born  May,  1687. 

VI.  Sarah,  born  Jan'ry  1688. 

VII.  Elizabeth,  born  Jan'y  1690. 

VIII.  Abigail,  born  Oct.  1693. 

IX.  John,  baptized  June  21,  1696. 

X.  Benjamin,  born  27th,  March  1703. 

Phebe,  wife  of  Thomas  Bumpas,  became  a  member  of 
the  Barnstable  Church,  May  24,  1696,  and  on  the  21st  of 
June  following,  his  children  Samuel,  Thomas,  John,  Mary, 
Sarah,  Abigail  and  Elizabeth  were  baptized.  Hannah,  his 
eldest  child,  was  then  married,  and  respecting  Jane  under 
the  date  of  July  5,  1696,  is  the  following  entry:  "Jane  of 
Phebe,  wife  of  Thomas  Bump,  ye  girl  being  about  14  or  15 
years  old,  was  examined,  and  being  one  of  ye  family  and 
looked  upon  in  her  minority,  was  baptized."  The  baptism 
of  Benjamin  does  not  appear  on  the  church  records.  Phebe 
Bumpas  of  Barnstable,  married  Nov.  11,  1724,  John  Fish. 
She  was  probably  daughter  of  Thomas,  Sen'r,  The  Thank- 
ful Bumbas,  who  married  Dec.  12,  1744,  Jonathan  Hamblin, 
was  perhaps  another  daughter.  There  was  also  a  Samuel 
Bumpus,  Jr.,  of  Barnstable,  who  married  in  1733,  Sarah 
Rogers.of  Plymouth.  She  died  April  10,  1736,  leaving  a 
son  Levi,  born  March  17,  1734-5. 


BETTS. 


WILLIAM    BETTS, 

Aged  twenty  years,  came  over  in  the  Thomas  and  John, 
Richard  Lombard,  master,  from  Gravesend,  6th  Jan'y  1635. 
He  joined  Mr.  Lothrop's  church  Oct.  25,  1635,  married 
Alice,  Goodman  Ensign's  maid  in  the  Bay  (Massachusetts), 
Nov.  23,  1638,  removed  with  the  church  to  Barnstable  in 
1639.  Mr.  Savage  says  he  was  a  tanner  by  trade,  and  that 
he  was  afterwards  of  Dorchester.  In  the  list  of  those  who 
were  able  to  bear  arms  in  1643,  his  name  is  written  Beetts. 
Perhaps  the  name  is  Bills.  There  was  a  family  of  that  name 
early  in  Barnstable.  The  children  of  William  Betts,  born 
in  Barnstable,  were : 

Children  born  in  Barnstable. 

I.  Hannah,  bap'd  Jan'y  26,  1639-40. 

II.  Samuel,  bap'd  Feb.  5,  1642-3. 

III.  Hope,  a  son,  bap'd  Mar.  16,  1644-5. 

After  the  date  of  the  birth  of  his  son  Hope,  his  name 
disappears  on  the  Barnstable  records.  His  lands  are  not 
recorded ;  probably  they  were  transferred  to  another  with- 
out a  formal  deed,  as  was  the  custom  at  the  first  settlement. 
He,  perhaps,  settled  in  the  westerly  part  of  the  plantation, 
near  John  Crocker. 


BLUSH. 


ABRAHAM     BLUSH. 

This  name  is  uniformly  written  on  tlie  Colony  and  early 
Barnstable  records  Blush.  Many  of  his  descendants  now 
spell  their  name  Blish,  though  the  popular,  pronunciation  of 
the  name  continues  to  he  Blush. 

He  was  an  early  settler  at  Duxbury.  Nov.  1,  1637,  he 
bought  of  Richard  Moore,  for  twenty-one  pounds  sterling, 
(payable  in  money  or  beaver, )  a  dwelling-house  and  twenty 
acres  of  land  at  Eagle's  Nest  in  Duxbury.  On  the  26th  of 
Nov.  1638,  he  sold  the  easterly  half  of  the  land  to  John 
Willis  for  £8,  lOs.  sterling. 

He  was  of  Barnstable  in  1641,  and  was  probably  one  of 
the  first  settlers ;  was  propounded  to  be  admitted  a  freeman 
June  1,  1641;  again  in  1651,  and  1652.  The  date  of  his 
admission  is  not  given  ;  his  name  is  on  the  list  of  freemen 
in  1670.  He  was  a  grand-juror  in  1642,  1658,  and  1663  ; 
surveyor  of  highways  1645,  1650  and  1652;  constable, 
1656,  1660  and  1667.  He  is  styled  a  planter,  and  was  a 
large  landholder,  owning  at  West  Barnstable  eight  acres  of 
land  on  the  east  side  of  Bridge  Creek  or  Cuve,  and  seven- 
teen acres  of  meadow  adjoining.  Fourteen  acres  of  upland, 
eight  on  the  south,  and  six  on  the  north  side  of  the  road  and 
bounded  easterly  by  the  Annable  land,  and  three  acres  of 
meadow  adjoining.  His  great  lot  containing  forty  acres  was 
on  the  east  of  Scorton  Hill,  and  bounded  southerly  by  the 
highway.  This  he  sold  Feb.  10,  1668,  to  John  Crocker, 
Sen'r,  for  £5,  10s. 

In  1662,  he  owned  another  sti'ip  of  land  on  the  east  of 
the  Annable  Farm,  containing  eight  acres,  extending  from 
the  marsh  across  the  highway  to  Annable's  pond. 

The  above  lands  were  his  W^est  Barnstable  farm,  on 
which  it  appears  that  he  resided  in  1643,  being  one  of  the 


90     GENEALOGICAL  NOTES  OE  BARNSTABLE  FAMILIES. 

earliest  settlers  in  that  part  of  the  town.  His  old  home- 
stead on  the  west  of  the  Annable  land  was  owned  by  him 
and  his  descendants  about  two  centuries. 

July  17,  1G58,  he  bought  for  £75,  the  Dolar  Davis 
farm,  in  the  easterly  part  of  the  town  containing  fifty  acres 
of  upland  and  ten  of  meadow.  Twelve  acres  ol  this  land 
was  at  Stony  Cove,  and  was  sold  by  him  in  1680  to  Nathan- 
iel and  Jeremiah  Bacon ;  twenty-two  acres  in  the  Old  Com- 
mon Field,  and  sixteen  acres  (his  house  lot),  on  the  south 
of  the  Mill  Pond.  His  dwelling-house  stood  a  short  dis- 
tance south-easterly  from  the  present  water-mill.  The 
causeway  which  forms  the  Mill  Dam  was  called  in  early 
times  Blushe's  Bridge,  and  the  point  of  land  at  the  western 
extremity  of  the  Old  Common  Field  is  now  known  as 
Blushe's  Point. 

The  first  wife  of  Abraham  Blush  was  named  Anne, 
perhaps  Anne  Pratt.  She  was  buried  in  Barnstable,  ac- 
cording to  the  Town  and  Colony  records,  May  16,  1651 ; 
but  according  to  the  Chui'cli  records,  which  are  more  relia- 
ble, on  the  26th  of  May,  1653.  His  second  wife  was  Han- 
nah, daughter  of  John  Williams  of  Scituate,  and  widow  of 
.John  Barker  of  Marshfield.  She  was  buried  in  Barnstable, 
March  16,  1658,  according  to  the  Colony  records ;  but  the 
Barnstable  record  probably  gives  the  ti'ue  date,  Feb.  16, 
1657-8.  He  married  for  his  third  wife,  January  4,  1658-9, 
Alice,  widow  of  John  Derby  of  Yarmouth.  He  died  Sept. 
7,  1683  ;  his  age  is  not  stated.  His  children  born  in  Barn- 
stable were 

Children  born  in  Barnstable. 

I.      Sarah,  born  2d  Dec.  1641,  bap'd  5th  Dec.  1641. 

H.  Joseph,  born  1st  April,  1648,  bap'd  9th  April,  1648; 
married  Hannah  Hull,  15th  Sept.  1674 ;  died  June  14, 
"1730,  aged  82  years. 

HI.  Abraham,  born  16th  Oct.  1654.  In  the  will  of  his 
uncle,  Capt.  John  Williams  of  Scituate,  he  is  called  of 
Boston  in  1691.  In  1698,  Thomas  Brattle  of  Boston, 
conveyed  to  Abraham  Blush  and  twenty  others,  land 
called  Brattle  Close.  He  was  one  of  the  founders  of 
the  church  in  Brattle  street  in  1698.  Mr.  Savage  does 
not  find  that  he  had  a  family. 
Joseph  Blush,  son  of  Abraham,  married  Sept.  15,  1674, 


GENEALOGICAL   NOTES    OF   BARNSTABLE   FAMILIES.         91 

Hannah,  daughter  of  Tristram  Hull.  He  resided  at  West 
Barnstable.  He  died  June  14,  1730,  aged  82,  and  his 
widow  died  Nov.  15,  1733,  aged  75  years.  His  will  is  da- 
ted June  25,  1722,  and  Avas  proved  Aug.  30,  1731.  He 
names  his  wife  Hannah,  and  sons  Tristam  sole  executor, 
Benjamin,  Abraham  and  Joseph  ^  and  daughters  Annah, 
Thankful  and  Mary.  He  gives  his  cane  to  his  son  Joseph, 
and  remembers  all  his  grand-children  then  four  years  of 
age. 

Children  born  in  Barnstable. 

I.         Joseph,  born  13th  Sept.  1675,  married  Hannah  Child, 

30th  July,  1702. 
H.        John,  born  17th  Feb.  1676-7 ;  died  young. 
HI.      Annah,  born  Feb.  1678-9. 

IV.  Abraham,  born  27th  Feb.   1680-1,  married  Temper- 
ance Fuller,  Nov.  Nov.  12,  1736. 

V.  Reuben,  born  14th  Aug.  1683,  married  two  wives. 

VI.  Sarah,  born  Aug.  1685,  died  3d  Jan'y  1686. 

VII.  Sarah,  born  Sept.  1687,  died  1705. 

VIII.  Thankful,  born  Sept.  1689,  married  Joseph  Bodfish, 
Oct.  11,  1712. 

IX.  John,  born  1st  Jan'y  1691 ;  died  Oct.  14,  1711. 

X.  Tristram,  born  April,  1694. 

XI.  Mary,  born  April  1696,  married  Samuel  Jones  26th 
June,  1718. 

XII.  Benjamin,  born  April,  1699. 

Joseph  Blush,  Jr.,  son  of  Joseph,  resided  at  West 
Barnstable.  He  married  30th  July,  1702,  Hannah,  daugh- 
ter of  Eichard  Child.  She  died  11th  Nov.  1732,  aged  58 
years,  and  he  married  in  1733  his  second  wife,  Eem ember 
Backus  of  Sandwich.  He  died  March  4,  1754,  aged  79 
years. 

Children  bom  in  Barnstable. 

I.  Joseph,  born  2d  Feb.  1704,  married  Oct.  28,  1730, 
Mercy  Crocker,  and  had  Joseph,  born  July  20,  1731, 
who  married  Sarah  Crocker,  May  19,  1757.  During 
the  Revolution  he  was  an  active  and  energetic  Whig. 
Hannah,  born  Oct.  28,  1732,  married  Zachariah  Perry 
ot  Sandwich,  Feb.  7,  1744-5  ;  William,  Dec.  22,  1733  ; 
Samuel,  bap'd  March   16,  1734-5 ;  Seth,  bap'd  March 


92  GENEALOGfCAL  NOTES   OF  BAENSTAELE   FAMILIES. 

25,  1739;  Mercy,  born  Oct.  24,  1740;  Benjamin, 
bap'd  July  18,  1742;  Ebenezer,  born  April  1,  1744, 
and  Timothy,  Feb.  16,  1745-6. 

II.  Abigail,  born  29th  Nov.  1705,  married  Seth  Crocker. 

III.  Sarah,  born  1st  Oct.  1707,  married  Seth  Hamblin,  Oct, 
9,  1735. 

IV.  Mehitable,   14th    June,   1711,  married   Ben.    Jenkins, 
Oct.  29,  1730. 

V.  Abraham,  born  29th  Sept.  1712  ;  died  Feb.  8,  1723-4. 

VI.  Hannah,  14th  June,  1715. 

Al)raham  Blush,  son  of  Joseph,  married  Nov.  12,  1736, 
Temperance  Fuller.  He  was  fifty-live  and  she  was  only 
twenty  at  their  marriage.  Joseph  Blush,  Jr.,  had  a  son 
Abraham  born  in  1712,  who  died  in  1724,  and  as  there  was 
no  other  Abraham  in  Barnstable,  it  is  to  be  presumed  that  the 
match  was  made  notwithstanding  the  disparity  in  the  ages 
of  the  bride  and  bridegroom. 

Children  born  in  Barnstable. 

I.  Abraham,  20th  Oct.  1737. 

II.  Elijah,  5th   March,   1738-9,  married  Sarah  Stewart, 
Jan'y  25,  1761. 

III.  Rebecca,  14th  Nov.  1740. 

IV.  Benjamin,  9th  May,  1743. 

V.  Elisha,  23d  April,  1745  ;  died  17th  Nov.  1645. 

VI.  Elisha,  1st  March,  1746-7. 

VII.  Martha,  14th  July,  1749. 
VIH.  Temperance,  21st  Nov.  1751. 

IX.      Timothy,  3d  Aug.  1756,  probably  died  young. 

Reuben  Blush,  son  of  Joseph,  is  not  named,  if  my  ab- 
stract is  reliable,  in  his  father's  will,  and  though  he  mar- 
ried twice  and  had  a  family,  the  births  of  his  children  are 
not  on  the  Barnstable  records.  By  his  first  wife  Elizabeth, 
he  had  six  children  baptized  Dec.  20,  1730,  namely  :  John', 
Silas,  Reuben,  Elizabeth,  Hannah  and  Thankful. 

He  married  for  his  second  wife,  Mary  Thomas,  Oct, 
25,  1735.  In  his  will  dated  July  3d,  1738,  proved  on  the 
20th  Oct.  following,  he  names  his  wife  Mary,  and  sons  John, 
Reuben  and  Silas.  His  widow,  who  is  styled  Mrs.,  married 
March  5,  1745,  Lieut.  John  Annable. 


GENEALOGICAL    NOTES    OF    BARNSTABLE    FAMILIES.  93 

Tristram  Blush,  son  of  Joseph,  married  Oct.  17,  1717, 
Anne  Fuller,  and  had  children  born  in  Barnstable,  namely : 

I.  Benjamin,  June  16.  1718. 

II.  Anna,  Nov.  19,  1719. 

III.  Sylvanus,  Oct.  13,  1721. 

IV.  Thankful,  bap'd  Nov.   1725.     A  Thankful  Blush  mar- 
ried Caleb  P^rry  of  Sandwich,  Oct.  1758. 

John  Blush,  son  of  Reuben,  married  Nov.  15,  1739, 
Mary,  daughter  of  Ebenezer  Goodspeed,  Jr.,  and  had  John, 
Nov.  14,  1745;  Mary,  Feb.  17,  1748,  (who  had  Mary 
Crocker  by  Enoch  Crocker,  Auaj.  20,  1765;)  Stacy,  March 
26,  1751,  and  Eebecca,  Oct.  14^  1756. 

Reuben  Blush,  son  of  Reuben,  married  May  11,  1747, 
Ruth  Childs,  and  had  Reuben,  20th  Oct.  1747  ;  David,  11th 
May,  1749;  Thomas,  21st  July,  1751,  and  Elizabeth,  19th 
Oct.  1755. 

Silas  Blush,  son  of  Reuben,  married  Nancy  Tobey  of 
Falmouth  in  1747,  and  had  Rebecca  bap'd  Jan'y  25,  1748-9  ; 
Abigail,  June  2,  1751 ;  Mercy,  Sept.  30,  1752  ;  Silas,  Aug. 
1,  1756;  Elisha,  Jan'y  15,  1759,  and  Mercy,  April  18, 
1762. 

Silas  of  this  family  married  Chloe,  daughter  of  Nicholas 
Cobb.  His  widow  is  now  living  at  the  advanced  age  of 
ninety-six. 

His  brother  Elisha  was  a  very  worthy  man ;  but  he 
made  one  sad  mistake,  he  married  for  his  first  wife  a  woman 
because  she  had  lands  and  money. 

ELISHA    BLUSH AUNT    "BECK"    AND    HER    MUSEUM. 

Elisha  Blush  married  for  his  first  wife  June  2,  1790, 
Rebecca  Linnell — familiarly  known  as  "Aunt  Beck," — the 
third  wife  and  widow  of  Johif  Linnell,  deceased.  The  first 
wife  of  the  latter  was  Mercy  Sturgis,  his  second,  Ruth,  a  sis- 
ter of  Rebecca,  and  both  daughters  of  James  Linnell.  By 
Mercy  and  Ruth  he  had  no  issue,  by  Rebecca  a  daughter 
Abigail.  By  the  ecclesiastical  law  of  England  it  was  then 
illegal  for  a  man  to  marry  his  deceased  wife's  sister,  and  the 
issue  of  such  marriages  was  declared  illegitimate.  Under 
this  law  the  other  heirs  of  John  Linnell  claimed  his  large  es- 
tate to  the  exclusion  of  his  widow  and  daughter.  Before 
anv  settlement   was    made,  the    daughter   died,  the  widow 


94  GENEALOGICAL    NOTES    OF    BARNSTABLE    FAMILIES. 

married,  and  the.  law  was  changed.  The  matter  was  finally 
settled  by  compromise,  and  Rebecca  Blush  came  into  posses- 
sion of  nearly  all  her  first  husband's  estate. 

Elisha  Blush  was  a  shoemaker  by  trade,  a  very  honest 
and  worthy  man,  and  an  exemplary  member  of  the  Metho- 
dist Church.  At  the  time  of  his  first  marriage  he  was  thirty- 
one  and  his  wife  forty-six  years  of  age.  She  died  Nov.  7, 
1830,  aged  86  years,  and  six  weeks  and  three  days  after  he 
married  Eebecca  Linnell,  a  grand  niece  of  his  first  wife,  a 
young  woman  aged  29.  Elisha  Blush  died  May  1836,  aged 
77,  and  his  widow  is  the  present  wife  of  the  Rev.  Scolly  G. 
Usher,  now  a  practicing  physician  at  the  West. 

When  young  I  had  often  heard  of  Aunt  Beck's  Museum, 
and  there  are  very  few  in  Barnstable  who  have  not.  In  the 
winter  of  1825,  I  resided  in  her  neighborhood,  and  made 
several  calls  to  examine  her  curiosities.  Her  house,  yet  re- 
maining, is  an  old-fashioned,  low  double-house,  facing  due 
South,  with  two  front-rooms,  a  kitchen,  bedroom  and  pan- 
try on  the  lower  floor.  The  east  front-room,  which  was 
her  sitting-room,  is  about  fourteen  feet  square.  The  west 
room  is  smaller.  Around  the  house  and  out-buildings  every 
thing  was  remarkably  neat.  The  wood  and  fencing  stuff 
was  carefully  piled,  the  chips  at  the  wood-pile  were  raked 
up,  and  there  Avas  no  straw  or  litter  to  be  seen  about  the 
barn  or  fences.  It  was  an  estate  that  the  stranger  would 
notice  for  its  neat  and  tidy  appearance. 

In  my  visits  to  her  house  the  east  front-room  was  the 
only  portion  I  was  permitted  to  see,  though  I  occasionally 
caught  a  glimpse  of  the  curiosities  in  the  adjoining  rooms 
through  the  half-opened  doors.  I  was  accompanied  in  my 
visits  by  a  young  lady  who  was  a  neighbor,  and  on  excel- 
lent terms  with  Aunt  Beck.  She  charged  me  not  to  look 
around  the  room  when  I  entered,  but  keep  my  eye  on  the 
lady  of  the  house,  or  on  the  fire-place.  To  observe  such 
precautions  was  absolutely  necessary,  for  the  stranger  who, 
on  entering,  should  stare  around  the  room,  would  soon  feel 
the  weight  of  Aunt  Beck's  ire,  or  her  broom-stick.  1  fol- 
lowed my  instructions,  and  was  invited  to  take  one  of  the 
two  chairs  in  the  room.  It  was  a  cool  evening,  and  all  be- 
ing seated  close  to  the  fire,  we  were  soon  engaged  in  a 
friendly  chat,  and  I  soon  had  an  opportunity  to  examine  the 
curiosities.     In  the  northeast  corner  of  the  room   stood  a 


GENEALOGICAL    NOTES    OF    BARNSTABLE    FAMILIES.  95 

bedstead  with  a  few  rajrged,  dirty  bed-clothes  spread  thereon. 
The  space  under  the  bed  was  occupied  partly  as  a  pantry. 
Several  pans  of  milk  were  set  there  for  cream  to  rise,  (for 
Aunt  Beck  made  her  own  butter)  ;  but  when  she  made  more 
than  she  used  in  her  family,  she  would  complain  of  the  dull- 
ness of  the  market.  In  front  of  the  bed  and  near  the  centre 
of  the  room  stood  a  common  table  about  three  feet  square. 
Respecting  this  table  a  neighbor,  Captain  Elisha  Hall,  as- 
sured me  that  to  his  certain  knowledge  it  had  stood  in  the 
same  place  twenty  years,  how  much  longer  he  could  not  say. 
On  this  table,  for  very  many  successive  years,  she  had  laid 
whatever  she  thought  curious  or  worth  preserving.  When 
an  article  was  laid  thereon  it  was  rarely  removed,  for  no  one 
would  dare  meddle  with  Aunt  Beck's  curiosities.  Feathers 
were  her  delight ;  but  many  were  perishable  articles,  and  in 
the  process  of  time  had  rotted  and  changed  into  a  black 
mould,  covering  the  table  with  a  stratum  of  about  an  inch  in 
thickness. 

In  front  of  the  larger  table  stood  a  smaller  one  near 
the  tire-place,  from  which  the  family  partook  of  their  meals. 
This  table  was  permanently  located,  and  I  was  informed  by 
the  neighbors  that  no  perceptible  change  had  been  made  in 
the  ORDER,  or  more  properly  disorderly,  arrangements  of 
the  furniture  and  curiosities  for  the  ten  years  next  preceding 
my  visit.  The  evening  was  cool,  and  though  my  hostess 
was  the  owner  of  extensive  tracts  of  woodland,  covered  with 
a  heavy  growth,  she  could  not  afford  herself  a  comfortable 
tire.  A  few  brands  and  two  or  three  dead  sticks,  added 
after  we  came  in,  cast  a  flickering  light  over  the  room  ;  but, 
fortunately  for  our  olfactories,  did  not  inci'ease  its  tempera- 
ture. 

The  floor,  excepting  narrow  paths  between  the  doors, 
fire-place  and  bed,  was  entirely  covered  with  broken  crock- 
ery, old  pots,  kettles,  pails,  tubs,  &c.,  &c.,  and  the  walls 
were  completely  festooned  with  old  clothing,  useless  articles 
of  furniture,  bunches  of  dried  herbs,  &c.,  &c.,  in  fact  every 
article  named  in  the  humorous  will  of  Father  A-bby,  except- 
ing a  "tub  of  soap."  The  other  articles  named  in  the  same 
stanza  were  conspicuous  : 

"A  long  cart  rope, 
A  frying-pan  and  kettle. 
An  old  sword  blade,  a  garden  spade, 
A  pi-uning-hook  and  sickle." 


96  GENEALOGICAL,    NOTES    OF    BARNSTABLE    FAMILIES. 

But  in  justice  to  Aunt  Beck,  I  should  state  that  she  did 
for  many  long  years  contemplate  making  "a  tub  of  soap." 
For  thirty  years  she  saved  all  her  beef-bones  for  that  pur- 
pose, depositing  the  same  in  her  large  kitchen  fire-place  and 
in  other  places  about  the  room.  During  the  warm  summer 
of  1820,  these  bones  became  so  offensive  that  Aunt  Beck 
reluctantly  consented  to  have  them  removed,  and  Captain 
Elisha  Hall, who  saw  them  carted  away,  says  there  was  more 
than  an  ox-cart  load. 

Of  the  other  rooms  in  the  house  I  cannot  speak  from 
pei'sonal  knowledge ;  but  the  lady  who  went  with  me  and 
who  is  now  living,  informed  me  that  in  the  west  room  there 
was  a  bed,  a  shoemaker's  bench,  flour  barrels,  chests  con- 
taining valuable  bedding,  too  good  to  use,  and  a  nameless 
variety  of  other  articles  scattered  over  the  bed  and  chairs  ; 
from  the  walls  were  suspended  a  saddle  and  pillion,  and 
many  other  things  preserved  as  rare  curiosities.  In  time  the 
room  became  so  completely  filled  that  it  was  diflicult  to  en- 
ter it.  The  kitchen,  bedroom,  pantry  and  chambers  were 
filled  with  vile  trash  and  trumpery,  covered  with  dirt  and 
litter. 

This  description  may  seem  imaginary  or  improbable  to 
the  stranger ;  but  there  are  hundreds  now  living  in  Barn- 
stable who  can  testify  that  the  picture  is  not  drawn  in  too 
strong  colors.  Truth  is  sometimes  stranger  than  fiction,  and 
this  maxim  applies  in  all  its  force  to  Rebecca  Blush.  That 
she  was  a  monomaniac  is  true  ;  but  that  she  was  insane  on 
all  subjects  is  not  true.  Early  in  life  she  was  neat,  industri- 
ous and  very  economical,  but  her  prudent  habits  soon  degen- 
erated into  parsimony.  Economy  is  a  vii'tue  to  be  inculcat- 
ed, but  when  the  love  of  money  becomes  the  ruling  passion, 
and  a  man  saves  that  he  ma}^  hoard  and  accumulate,  he 
becomes  a  miser,  and  as  such,  is  despised.  The  miser  accu- 
mulates money,  or  that  which  can  be  converted  into  money. 
Aunt  Beck  saved  not  only  money,  but  useless  articles  that 
others  threw  away.  These  she  would  pick  up  in  the  fields, 
and  by  the  roadside,  and  store  away  in  her  house.  During 
the  latter  part  of  her  life  she  seldom  went  from  home. 
During  more  than  twenty  years  she  thus  gathered  up  useless 
trash,  and  as  she  did  not  allow  any  thing  (except  the  bones) 
to  be  carried  out  for  more  than  forty  years,  it  requires  no 
great  stretch  of  the  imagination  to  form  a  correct  picture  of 


GENEALOGICAL    NOTES    OF    BARNSTABLE    FAMILIES.  97 

the  condition  and  appearance  of  the  place,  she  called  her 
home. 

Her  estate,  if  she  had  allowed  her  husband  to  have 
managed  it,  would  have  been  much  larger  at  her  death.  Her 
wood  she  would  not  be  allowed  to  be  cut  and  sold,  and  the 
proceeds  invested.  She  lost  by  investing  her  money  in 
mortgages  on  old  houses  and  worn-out  lands,  and  loaning  to 
persons  who  never  paid  their  notes.  She  also  had  a  habit 
of  hiding  parcels  of  coin  among  the  rubbish  in  her  house, 
and  sometimes  she  would  forget  not  only  where  she  had 
placed  the  treasure,  but  how  many  such  deposits  she  had 
made.  It  is  said  that  some  of  her  visitors,  who  were  not 
over-much  honest,  often  carried  away  these  deposits,  un- 
known and  unsuspected  by  her. 

On  one  subject,  saving,  Rebecca  Blush  was  not  of 
sound  mind.  She  was,  however,  a  woman  naturally  of  strong 
mind — no  one  could  be  captain  over  her.  She  knew  more 
or  less  of  almost  every  family  in  town,  and  was  always  very 
particular  in  her  inquiries  respecting  the  health  of  the  fam- 
ilies of  her  visitors.  She  delighted  in  repeating  ancient  bal- 
lads and  nursery  tales.  In  her  religious  opinions  she  was 
Orthodox;  and  she  hated  the  Methodists,  not  because  they 
were  innovators,  but  because  the  preachers  called  at  her 
house,  and  because  her  husband  contributed  something  to 
their  suppoi-t. 

Not  a  dollar  of  the  money  saved  and  accumulated  by 
her,  during  a  long  life  of  toil  and  self-denial,  now  remains. 
In  a  few  short  years  it  took  to  itself  wings  and  flew  away. 
Her  curiosities,  which  she  had  spent  so  many  years  in  col- 
lecting and  preserving,  were  ruthlessly  destroyed  before  her 
remains  were  deposited  in  the  grave.  She  died  on  Sunday. 
On  the  Thursday  preceding,  her  attendants  commenced  re- 
moving. She  overheard  them,  and  asked  if  it  thundered. 
They  satisfied  the  dying  woman  with  an  evasive  answer. 
Before  her  burial,  all  her  curiosities  were  either  burnt,  or 
scattered  to  the  four  winds  of  heaven. 

The  old  house  soon  lost  all  its  charms,  and  its  doors 
ceased  to  attract  visitors.  Its  interior  was  cleansed  and 
painted ;  paper-hangings  adorned  the  walls,  and  handsome 
furniture  the  rooms.  Forty-five  days  after  her  death  there 
was  a  wedding-party  at  the  house.  Mr.  Blush  endeavored 
to    correct    the  sad    mistake  which    he  made  when  a  young 


98  GENEALOGICAL    NOTES    OF    BARNSTABLE    FAMILIES. 

man,  by  taking  in  his  old  age  a  young  woman  for  his  second 
wife,  forty-three  years  j'^ounger  than  himself,  and  fifty-seven 
years  younger  than  his  first  wife. 

During  the  closing  period  of  his  life,  a  term  of  nearly 
six  years,  Elisha  Blush  enjoyed  all  those  comforts  and  con- 
veniences of  life  of  which  he'  had  been  deprived  for  forty 
years,  and  to  which  a  man  having  a  competent  estate  is  enti- 
tled. This  great  change  in  his  mode  of  living  did  not,  how- 
ever, afibrd  him  unalloyed  happiness.  One  remark  which 
he  made  at  this  period  is  worth  preserving ;  it  shows  the 
effect  which  habits  of  forty  years  growth  have  on  the  human 
mind.  Some  one  congratulated  him  on  the  happy  change 
which  had  taken  place.  "Yes,"  said  he,  "I  live  more  com- 
fortably than  I  did,"  but  he  added  with  a  sigh,  "my  present 
wife  is  not  so  economical  as  my  first." 

Note. — I  read  the  manuscript  of  this  article  to  the  only  persons  now 
living  whom  I  presumed  would  have  any  feeling  in  regard  to  its  publi- 
cation. They  are  relatives  of  Aunt  Beck,  and  when  young  were  frequent 
visitors  at  her  house.  I  altered  whatever  they  said  was  not  literally 
true,  excepting  things  of  which  I  was  myself  an  eye  witness.  They  re- 
quested me  to  say  nothing  of  her  eccentricities.  I  replied  that  Aunt 
Beck  and  her  museum,  like  Sarcho  and  Dappie,  were  born  for  each  oth- 
er, and  if  the  account  of  the  museum  was  omitted,  Aunt  Beck  sunk  into 
insignificance. 


BLACHFORD. 


WILLIAM    BLACHFORD. 

According  to  tradition  William  Blachford,  the  ancestor 
of  this  family,  came  from  London.  His  wife,  Elizabeth 
Lewis,  was  a  daughter  of  Benjamin  Lewis,  who  had  a  house 
at  Crooked,  now  called  Lampson's  Pond.  She  was  popu- 
larly known,  not  by  her  true  name,  but  as  Liza  Towerhill, 
because  the  family  of  her  husband  is  said  to  have  resided  in 
that  part  of  London.  She  was  reputed  to  be  a  witch. 
Some  of  the  marvels  which  are  related  of  her  I  have  pub- 
lished. It  is  unnecessary  now  to  re-produce  them,  or  other 
equally  improbable  relations  since  collected.  That  Elizabeth 
Blachford  was  a  witch,  and  transformed  herself  into  a  black 
cat  at  pleasure,  and  performed  most  wonderful  feats,  all  her 
neighbors  three-fourths  of  a  century  ago  believed,  or  at  least 
pretended  to  believe.  Even  at  this  day,  there  are  persons 
who  firmly  believe  that  Liza  Tower  Hill  was  a  witch,  and 
did  all  the  wonderful  things  that  they  have  heard  ancient 
people  relate. 

She  was  a  daughter  of  Benjamin  Lewis  by  his  second 
wife,  Hannah  Hinckley.  Her  father  was  a  grand-son  of  the 
first  George  Lewis,  and  her  mother  was  a  grand-daughter 
of  the  first  Samuel,  and  own  cousin  to  Gov.  Thomas  Hinck- 
ley. Her  family  and  connections  were  among  the  most  respec- 
table and  infiuential  in  Barnstable.  She  was  born  Jan'y  17, 
1711-12,  married  William  Blachford,  Nov.  12,  1728, 
admitted  to  the  East  Church,  in  full  communion,  Jan'y  9, 
1736-7,  of  which  she  was  an  exemplany  member  until  her 
death  in  July,  1790.  She  was  honest,  industrious,  ener- 
getic and  shrewd  in  making  a  bargain.  The  records  of  Eev. 
Mr.  Green  furnish  evidence  that  she  was  an  exemplary  and 
pio'.is  woman,  fifty -three  years  of  her  life — a  period  cover- 
ing the  whole   time  in   which,  according  to  popular  belief. 


100  GENEALOGICAL    NOTES    OF    BARNSTABLE    FAMILIES. 

she  was  in  league  with  the  Evil  One. 

Her  husband  was  a  very  worthy  man,  admitted  to  the 
church  at  his  own  house  on  the  day  preceding  his  death  ; 
died  June  15,  1755,  leaving  a  small  estate  and  seven  chil- 
dren, four  under  seventeen,  to  be  provided  for  by  their 
mother.  She  spun  and  wove  for  those  who  were  able  to 
pay  for  her  services,  managed  her  small  farm,  working 
thereon  with  her  own  hands,*  kept  several  cows,  and  thus 
was  able  to  bring  up  her  children  respectably. 

A  question  here  arises  which  covers  the  whole  ground 
respecting  the  popular  belief  in  witchcraft.  It  is  difficult 
perhaps  satisfactorily  to  explain  this  phase  in  the  popular 
mind.  Fifty  years  before  the  time  of  Liza  Towerhill,  the 
intelligent  and  the  ignorant  alike  believed  in  the  existence 
of  witches.  The  Bible  taught  that  there  witches  in  olden 
times ;  and  the  laws  of  Old  and  New  England  recognized 
witchcraft  as  an  existing  evil,  the  practice  whereof  was  crim- 
inal and  punishable  with  death.  Eespecting  the  meaning  of 
the  words  "being  possessed  with  devils,"  and  "witches" 
in  the  Scriptures,  our  ancestors  had  vague  and  uncertain 
notions.  The  imaginations  of  the  ignorant  and  the  super- 
stitious, perhaps  aided  by  the  malice  of  the  wicked,  gave 
form  and  substance  to  those  vague  notions,  and  they  became 
visible  forms  to  their  eyes,  more  frequently  in  that  of  a  cat 
than  any  other  animal.  That  such  transformations  actually 
occurred  was  believed  by  very  many  ;  and  not  a  few  held  that 
the  hanging  of  witches  was  a  religious  duty.  We  may  re- 
gret that  such  was  the  popular  delusion,  or  we  may  laugh 
at  the  simplicity  of  those  who  believed  in  such  vageries  ;  yet 
five  generations  have  since  passed,  and  time  has  not  entirely 
eradicated  from  the  popular  mind  a  belief  in  the  existence  of 
apparitions  and  witches. 


*A  man  now  living  informs  me  that  when  a  small  boy,  he  went  with 
his  father  to  assist  Liza  in  breaking  np  a  piece  of  new  ground.  At  that 
time  she  must  have  been  over  seventy-iive  years  of  age,  yet  she  performed 
the  most  laborious  part  of  the  operation — holding  down  the  plough. 
During  the  operation  the  plough  was  suddenly  brought  up  against  a 
stump,  and  the  concussion  threw  her  over  it.  She  suffered  no  incon- 
venience by  the  accident,  and  continued  to  work  till  the  job  was  com- 
pleted. All  admit  that  she  was  not  a  weak-minded  woman,  aud  this 
anecdote  shows  that  she  was  also  physically  strong. 


GENEALOGICAL    NOTES    OF    BARNSTABLE    FAMILIES.         101 

Phenomena  which  Science  now  enables  us  to  explain  in 
accordance  with  the  laws  which  govern  the  Universe,  were 
inexplicable  to  them,  and  without  iflaputing  to  them  wrong 
notions,  or  being  influenced  by  a  superstitious  fear,  we  may 
safely  admit  that  their  conclusions  were  honest.  All  dis- 
eases which  aflTected  both  the  mind  and  the  body,  including 
diseases  of  the  nervous  system,  epilepsy,  monomania,  &c., 
were  classed  in  ancient  times  under  the  general  head  of  being 
"possessed  of  an  evil  spirit."  Without  entering  upon  this 
inquiry,  it  is  sufficient  to  say  that  our  fathers  believed  that 
the  devil  had  something  to  do  with  persons  thus  afflicted.  I 
am,  however,  satisfied  that  nineteen-twentieths  of  the  witch 
stories  told,  originated  in  dream-land.  All  that  are  told  of 
Liza  Towerhill  are  of  this  class.  Some  were  proved  to  be 
so  during  the  life-time  of  the  parties.  The  case  of  Mr. 
Wood  of  West  Barnstable  is  an  illustration.  He  charged 
Liza  with  putting  a  bridle  and  saddle  on  him  and  riding  him 
many  times  to  Plum  Pudding  Pond  in  Plymouth,  where  the 
witches  held  their  nightly  orgies.  Though  Mr.  Wood  had 
palpable  evidence  of  the  falsity  of  the  charge,  yet  for  many 
years  he  continued  to  relate  the  story,  and  evidently  believed 
he  was  telling  the  truth.  This  case,  if  it  proves  anything, 
proves  that  Mr.  Wood  was  a  monomaniac. 

Another  question  arises,  how  it  happened  that  a  woman 
who  sustained  the  good  character  of  Elizabeth  Blachford, 
should  be  made  the  scape-goat  of  the  flock,  and  be  charged 
with  being  in  league  with  the  devil,  and  as  a  witch,  persecu- 
ted for  more  than  half  a  century.  Some  of  the  reasons  may 
be  found  that  induced  the  belief;  but  none  that  will  justify 
her  persecution.  Her  father's  house  was  in  the  forest,  two 
miles  from  a  neighbor.  At  that  time  wolves  and  other  wild 
animals  abounded  ;  Indians  were  constantly  scouring  the  for- 
ests for  game,  and  their  great  "trail"  from  Yarmouth  to 
Hyarmis,  now  visible,  passed  near  Mr.  Lewis'  house.  The 
solitariness  of  the  residence,  and  the  associations  of  raven- 
ous beasts,  and  of  more  cruel  Indians  therewith,  inspired 
awe,  and  led  the  popular  mind  into  the  belief  that  the  fam- 
ily must  be  connected  with  evil  spirits,  or  they  could  not 
live  in  such  a  wild  place  in  safety.  Elizabeth's  husband 
built  a  house  a  mile  west  of  her  father's,  on  the  borders  of 
Half- Way  Pond.  She  was  only  sixteen  and  one-half  years 
old,  and  that  a  young  woman  should  have  the  courage  to  live 


102    GENEALOGICAL  NOTES  OF  BARNSTABLE  FAMILIES. 

alone  in  the  woods,  seemed  in  that  superstitions  age  to  car- 
ry with  it  the  evidence  that  she  was  in  league  with  the  devil. 
It  is  unnecessary  to  add  that  such  reasoning  is  unconclusive  ; 
the  superstitious  never  examine  facts,  or  inquire  respecting 
the  soundness  of  the  opinions  they  adopt. 

When  Mrs.  Blachford  was  charged  with  being  a  witch, 
she  always  took  offence,  and  resented  the  charge  as  false  and 
malicious.  Her  children  would  not  allow  any  one  with  im- 
punity to  tell  them  that  their  mother  was  a  witch.  Even 
her  grandson  Uriah,  who  died  about  fifteen  years  ago,  aged 
over  eighty,  was  very  sensitive  on  the  subject,  and  the  man 
who  dared  to  tell  him  his  grandmother  was  a  witch,  he  would 
never  forget  or  forgive. 

The  days  of  witchcraft  are  now  numbered  and  past, — 
the  few  who  still  believe  in  it  cautiously  conceal  their  opin- 
ions. It  is  fortunate  for  the  reputation  of  the  Plymouth 
Colony  that  no  one  therein  was  ever  convicted,  condemned, 
or  punished  for  that  crime.  Our  rulers  had  the  good  sense 
to  punish  the  complainant  in  the  first  case  that  arose,  instead 
of  the  person  complained  of.  If  a  different  decision  had  then 
been  made,  a  thousand  complaints  would  have  arisen  and 
similar  acts  to  those  which  disgrace  the  annals  of  Salem  and 
Massachusetts,  would  now  disgrace  the  history  of  Plymouth 
and  Barnstable. 

The  ashes  of  Elizal)eth  Blachford  rest  quietly  in  the 
grave-yard  near  the  East  Church.  No  phoenix  spirit  has 
arose  therefrom  to  disturb  the  equanimity  of  the  living,  or 
disturb  the  repose  of  the  dead.  Neither  ghosts  nor  hobgob- 
lins are  seen  to  dance  over  her  grave,  or  sigh  because  the 
manes  of  the  last  witch  have  fled. 

The  family  of  William  Blachford  and  his  wife  Elizabeth 
Lewis,  born  in  Barnstable  : 

I.  Peter,  born  May  10,  1729. 

II.  Lydia,  April  5,  1734;  died  young. 

III.  Benjamin,  June  11,  1738,  married  1761,  Sai-ah  God- 
frey of  Yarmouth,  and  had  a  family. 

IV.  Kemember,  March  3,  1739-40.  married  Luke  Butler 
of  Nantucket,  Oct.  9.  1760. 

V.  Mercy,  April  13,  1742. 

VI.  David,  June  17,  1744,  married  Elizabeth  Ellis  of 
Provincetown,  1765.  He  died  Nov.  16,  1822,  ao-ed 
78.  "^ 


GENEALOGICAL    NOTES    OF    BARNSTABLE    FAMILIES.        103 

VII.  Lydia,  May  22,  1746,  married Ellis. 

VIII.  William,  June  25,  1750.     He  married  Monica . 


I  believe  she  was  an  Eldridge  from  Harwich.  She 
lived  at  one  time  in  a  house  built  over  a  large,  flat 
rock,  on  the  west  side  of  Monica's  Swamp  in  Barn- 
stable. After  their  marriage  they  lived  in  the  house 
which  was  his  mother's  at  Half-Way  Pond.  He  was 
a  soldier  in  the  Revolutionary  Army.  He  deserted  ; 
but  being  an  invalid  and  unable  to  stand  up  straight 
no  eflbrt  was  made  to  secure  his  return  to  the  army. 
Col.  Otis  was  instructed  to  have  him  arrested  as  a 
deserter  as  an  example  to  others.  Bill,  however,  on 
his  way  home,  passed  the  house  of  Col.  Otis.  At  the 
time,  he  and  some  of  his  neighbors  were  standing  in 
his  yard.  One  of  them  said  "There  comes  Bill  Blach- 
ford."  The  Colonel  turned  quickly  around,  and  look- 
ing in  an  opposite  direction,  exclaimed,  "Where  is 
the  rascal?"  Without  turning,  the  Colonel  went  into 
his  house  and  Bill  escaped.  A  little  further  on  Bill 
met  with  others  who  knew  him,  and  they  inquired 
where  he  was  from.  Bill  replied,  "Straight  from 
the  camp."     "Then,"  replied  the  first  speaker,  "you 

have  got  most  d y  warped  by  the  way."    He  died 

Aug.  30,  1816,  aged  66,  leaving  no  children. 


BOURNE. 


RICHARD     BOURNE. 

In  the  biographical  dictionaries  and  in  many  historical 
works,  there  are  short  sketches  of  the  life  and  character  of 
Richard  Bourne.  No  biography  of  this  distinguished  man 
has  been  written.  I  shall  not  attempt  it.  My  purpose  is 
to  elucidate  one  point  in  his  character,  namely :  the  politi- 
cal influence  of  his  labors  as  a  missionary, — a  point  not  en- 
tirely overlooked  by  early  writers, — but  historians  have 
failed  to  give  to  it  that  prominence  it  deserves.  The  facts 
bearing  on  this  point  will  be  stated  in  a  condensed  form. 

Aside  from  his  labors  as  a  missionar3%  Richard  Bourne 
was  a  man  of  note.  He  was  often  a  representative  to  the 
General  Court ;  held  many  town  offices ;  often  served  on 
committees,  and  as  a  referee  in  important  cases.  He  was  a 
well-informed  man  ;  discreet,  cautious,  of  sound  judgment, 
and  of  good  common  sense.  There  is  reason  to  doubt 
whether  he  brought  to  New  England  so  large  an  estate  as 
has  been  represented.  The  division  of  the  meadows  at 
Sandwich  does  not  indicate  that  he  was  a  man  of  wealth. 
He  was  a  good  business  man,  and  while  he  carefully  guarded 
the  interests  of  the  Indians,  he  did  not  forget  to  lay  up 
treasures  for  himself. 

John  Eliot,  Thomas  Mayhew,  father  and  son,  Richard 
Bourne,  John  Cotton,  Daniel  Gookin,  and  Thomas  Tupper 
consecrated  their  lives  to  the  philanthropic  purpose  of  meli- 
orating the  condition  of  the  Indians.  They  instructed  them 
in  the  arts  of  civilized  life ;  they  established  schools,  and 
they  founded  churches.  Many  of  the  Indians  were  con- 
verted to  Christianity,  and  lived  pious  and  holy  lives ;  very 
many  of  them  were  taught  to  read  and  write  their  native 
language,  and  a  few  were  good  English  scholars. 


GENEALOGICAL    NOTES    OF    BARNSTABLE    FAMILIES.        105 

Mr.  Bourne  was  the  pastor  of  the  Indian  Church  at 
Marshpee,*  gathered  in  1670.  The  apostles  Eliot  and  Cot- 
ton assisted  at  his  ordination.  His  parish  extended  from 
Provincetown  to  Middleboro' — one  hundred  miles.  He 
commenced  his  labors  as  a  missionary  about  the  year  1658, 
and  in  his  return  to  Major  Gookin,  dated  Sandwich,  Sept. 
1,  1674,  he  says  he  is  the  only  Englishman  employed  in  this 
extensive  region,  and  the  results  of  his  labors  are  stated  in 
his  return,  of  which  the  following  is  a  condensed  abstract : 

"Praying  Indians  that  do  frequently  meet  together  on 
the  Lord's  Day  to  worship  God."  He  names  twenty-two 
places  where  meetings  were  held.  The  number  of  men  and 
women  that  attended  these  meetings  was  three  hundred  and 
nine.  Young  men  and  maids,  one  hundred  and  eighty- 
eight.  Whole  number  of  praying  Indians,  four  hundred 
and  ninety-seven.  Of  these  one  hundred  and  forty-two 
could  read  the  Indian  language,  seventy-two  could  write, 
and  nine  could  read  English. 

The  labors  of  Mr.  Bourne  and  his  associates  have  not 
been  sufficiently  appreciated  by  historians.  In  1675,  the 
far-seeing  Philip,  Sachem  of  Mount  Hope,  had  succeeded 
in  uniting  the  Western  Indians  in  a  league,  the  avowed  ob- 
ject whereof  was  the  extermination  of  the  white  inhabitants 
of  New  England.  His  emissaries  in  vain  attempted  to  in- 
duce the  Christianized  Indians  to  join  that  league.  They 
remained  faithful.  Eichard  Bourne,  aided  by  Thomas  Tup- 
per  of  Sandwich,  Mr.  Thornton  of  Yarmouth  and  Mr.  Treat 
of  Eastham  had  a  controlling  influence  over  the  numerous 
bands  of  Indians  then  resident  in  the  County  of  Barnstable, 
in  Wareham,  Eochester  and  Middleboro'.  Mr.  Mayhew  ex- 
erted a  like  controlling  influence  over  the  natives  of  Martha's 
Vineyard  and  the  adjacent  islands. 

In  1674,  the  year  preceding  King  Philip's  war,  the  re- 
turns made  to  Major  Gookin,  show  that  the  aggregate  num- 
ber of  Christianized  or  praying  Indians 


•*Maesi-ipee.— Mr.  Hawlev.  who  understood  the  Indian  language,  says 
it  should  he  written  Massa'pe.  This  word  is  from  the  same  root  as 
Mississippi,  and  literally  moans  Great  Eiver.  The  principal  stream  in 
the  plantation  is  called  Marshpee  or  Great  River. 


10b    GENEALOGICAL  NOTES  OF  BARNSTABLE  FAMILIES. 

In  Massachusetts,  was                    _         _         _  -          1100 

In  Plymouth,  Mr.  Bourne's  return,           -  -         -       497 

In           '«          Mr.  Cotton's  partial,       -         -  -              40 

Estimated  number  not  enumerated,  -         -        170 

On  Martha's  Vineyard  and  Chappaquidock,  -          1500 

On  Nantucket,  -         -       300 


3607 


It  is  not  to  be  presumed  that,  at  that  time,  more  than 
one-half  of  the  Indians  had  been  converted,  or  were  nom- 
inally Christians.  Perhaps  a  fair  estimate  of  the  Indian 
population  in  1675,  in  the  territory  comprised  in  the  eastern 
part  of  the  present  Srate  of  Massachusetts,  would  be  7000 ; 
one-fifth,  or  1400  ot  whom  were  warriors. 

On  account  of  the  jealousies  and  suspicions  entertained 
by  the  English  in  Massachusetts,  the  Indians  rendered  little 
service  to  the  whites.  Mr.  Eliot  and  Major  Gookin  suffered 
reproaches  and  insults  for  endeavoring  to  repress  the  popu- 
lar rage  against  their  pupils.  Some  of  the  praying  Indians 
of  Natick,  and  from  other  places  in  Massachusetts,  were 
transported  to  Deer  Island  in  Boston  harbor.  Some  of  the 
Indians  in  Plymouth  Colony,  particularly  those  at  Pembroke, 
were  conveyed  to  Clarke's  Island,  Plymouth. 

On  Martha's  Vineyard  and  on  the  Cape,  the  Indians 
were  friendly  to  the  English.  Many  enlisted  and  fought 
bravely  against  the  forces  of  Philip.  Capt.  Daniel  of  Sa- 
tucket,  (Brewster),  and  Capt.  Amos  distinguished  them- 
selves in  the  war  and  are  honorably  mentioned.  In  the 
course  of  the  war,  the  number  of  prisoners  became  embar- 
rassing, and  they  were  sent  to  the  Cape  and  Martha's  Vine- 
yard, and  were  safely  kept  by  the  friendly  Indians. 

Major  Walley  says  that  the  English  were  rarely  suc- 
cessful when  they  were  not  aided  by  Indian  auxiliaries,  and 
urges  this  as  a  reason  tor  treating  them  kindly.  The  reader 
of  the  "History  of  the  Indian  Wars"  will  find  many  facts  to 
corroborate  the  opinion  of  Major  Walley. 

In  the  spring  of  1676  the  armies  of  Philip  were  victo- 
rious, and  the  inhabitants  of  Plymouth  Colony  were  panic 
stricken  and  despondent.  If  at  that  time  the  one  thousand 
Indian  warriors,  who  were  influenced  and  controlled  by 
Bourne  and  Mayhew  had  become  enemies,  the  contest  in 
Plymouth  Colony  would  not  have  been  doubtful,  the  oiher 


GENEALOGICAL   NOTES    OF   BARNSTABLE   FAMILIES.        107 

towns  would  have  been  destroyed  and  met  the  fate  of  Dart- 
mouth, Middleboro'  and  Swanzey.  At  this  time  three  hun- 
dred men  could  not  be  raised  to  march  for  the  defence  of 
Eehobeth.  All  the  towns,  excepting  Sandwich  and  Scituate, 
raised  their  quotas ;  but  many  of  the  soldiers  that  went 
forth,  returned  to  their  homes  without  marching  to  the  de- 
fence of  their  frontier  towns. 

In  1675,  Gov.  Hinckley  enumerated  the  Christianized 
Indians  embraced  in  the  region  of  country  which  had  been 
under  the  superintendence  of  Mr.  Bourne.  The  number  had 
increased  from  four  hundred  and  ninety-seven  in  1674,  to 
ten  hundred  and  fourteen  in  1685.  Showing  that  in  a 
period  of  eleven  years  the  number  had  more  than  doubled. 

In  1676,  no  enumeration  of  the  Indians  was  made  ;  but  it 
is  within  the  bounds  of  probability  to  assume  that  in  the 
district  of  country  under  the  supervision  and  care  of  Mr. 
Bourne  there  were  at  least  six  hundred  Indian  warriors. 
Had  these  at  this  particular  conjuncture  turned  rebels,  the 
whites  could  not  have  defended  their  towns  and  villages 
against  the  savages,  and  Plymouth  Colony  would  have  be- 
come extinct. 

It  ma}'  be  urged  that  Mr.  Bourne  could  not  have  done 
this  unaided  and  alone  ;  or,  if  he  had  not,  God  in  his  provi- 
dence would  have  raised  up  some  other  instruments  to  have 
effected  this  great  purpose.  The  fact  is  Richard  Bourne  by 
his  unremitted  labors  for  seventeen  years  made  friends  of  a 
sufficient  number  of  Indians,  naturally  hostile  to  the  English, 
to  turn  the  scale  in  Plymouth  Colony  and  give  the  prepon- 
derence  to  the  whites.  He  did  this,  and  it  is  to  him  who 
does,  that  we  are  to  award  honor.  Bourne  did  more  by  the 
moral  power  which  he  exerted  to  defend  the  Old  Colony 
than  Bradford  did  at  the  head  of  the  army.  Laurel  wreaths 
shade  the  brows  of  military  heroes — their  names  are  en- 
shrined in  a  bright  halo  of  glory — while  the  man  who  has 
done  as  good  service  for  his  country  by  moral  means,  sinks 
into  comparative  insignificance,  and  is  too  often  forgotten. 

The  Apostle  Eliot,  Mr.  Mayhew,  and  other  missiona- 
ries, performed  like  meritorious  services.  The  people  of 
Massachusetts  were  more  suspicious  of  the  good  faith  of  the 
converted  Indians,  than  the  residents  in  the  Plymouth 
Colony.  These  Indians  were  treated  unkindly  by  the  En- 
glish, yet  a  company  from  Natick  proved  faithful,  and  did 
good  service  in  the  war. 


108  GENEALOGICAL    NOTES    OF    BARNSTABLE    FAMILIES. 

Of  the  early  history  of  Mr.  Eichard  Bourne  little  is 
known.  It  is  said  he  came  from  Devonshire,  England.  He 
was  a  householder  in  Plymouth  in  1636,  and  his  name  ap- 
pears on  the  list  of  freemen  of  the  Colony,  dated  March  7, 
1636-7.  On  the  2d  of  January  preceding,  seven  acres  of 
land  were  granted  to  him  to  belong  to.  his  dwelling-house. 
At  the  same  court  seven  acres  of  land  were  granted  to  John 
Bourne,  in  behalf  of  his  father,  Mr.  Thomas  Bourne. 

May  2,  1637,  he  was  on  a  jury  to  lay  out  the  highways 
about  Plymouth,  Duxbury  and  Eel  Eiver.  June  5,  1638, 
he  was  a  grand  juror,  and  also  a  member  of  u  coroner's  in- 
quest. On  the  4th  of  September  following,  he  was  an  in- 
habitant of  Sandwich,  and  fined  18  pence  for  having  three 
pigs  unringed.  He  was  a  deputy  to  the  first  general  court 
in  1639,  and  excepting  1643,  represented  the  town  of  Sand- 
wich till  1645  ;  again  in  1652,  1664,  '65,  '66,  '67  and  '70. 

In  the  division  of  the  meadows  in  Sandwich  in  1640, 
he  had  seven  acres  assigned  to  him. 

In  1645  he  was  on  the  committee  elected  to  draft  laws 
for  the  Colony ;  in  1652  agent  of  the  Colony  to  receive  oil 
in  Sandwich.  In  1655,  Sarah,  daughter  of  Eichard  Kerby, 
was  sentenced  to  be  punished  severely  by  whipping,  for  ut- 
tering divers  suspicious  speeches  against  Mr.  Bourne  and 
Mr.  Freeman,  but  the  execution  was  respited  till  she  should 
again  be  guilty  of  a  like  offence.  In  1659  he  and  Mr. 
Thomas  Plinckley  were  authorized  to  purchase  lands  of  the 
Indians  at  Suckinesset,*  and  the  same  year  he  and  Mr. 
Freeman  wei'e  ordered  to  view  some  land  at  Manomet,  and 
confirm  the  sapie  to  Thomas  Burgis. 

In  1658  he  was  one  of  four  referees  to  settle  a  disputed 
boundary  between  Yarmouth  and  Barnstable.  The  boundary 
established  by  them  is  the  present  bounds,  but  the  grant  of 
the  township  to  which  they  refer  in  their  report  is  lost. 

In  1661,  he  and  Nathaniel  Bacon  and  Mr.  Thomas 
Hinckley  were  authorized  to  purchase  all  lands  theft  unpur- 
chased at  Suckinesset  and  places  adjacent. 

*  Sue  KiNES  SETT  the  Indian  nnme  ol  the  town  ol  Falmouth  is  variously- 
spelled  on  the  records.  It  means  '-the  place  where  hlack  wampum 
(Indian  money)  is  made."  I  prefer  the  orthos^raphy  here  given,  because 
the  roots  of  the  words  from  which  the  name  is  compounded  can  be  more 
easily  traced.  Sucki  means  black ;  the  terminal  syllable  is  applied  to 
places  on  the  sea-shore,  or  by  water.  The  other  syllables  I  cannot  ex- 
plain. 


GENEALOGICAL    NOTES    OP    BARNSTABLE    FAMILIES.         109 

In  1650,  he  and  others  of  Sandwich  petitioned  to  have 
larids  granted  to  them  at  the  following  places  :  Marshpee 
pond,  Cotuit  river,  and  meadow  at  Mannamuch  bay.  In 
]  (i55,  he  and  others  had  meadows  granted  them  at  Manomet, 
and  the  use  of  some  upland  meadow  at  the  end  of  Marshpee 
pond  was  granted  to  him,  if  the  Indians  consented.  In  1660, 
he  had  authority  to  locate  land  at  South  Sea,  above  Sand- 
wich, and  in  1661  Mr.  Alden  and  Mr.  Hinckley  laid  out  to 
him  "a  competency  of  meadow"  there. 

At  a  General  Court  held  at  Plymouth  June  4,  1661,  the 
Court  granted  unto  Richard  Bourne  of  Sandwich,  and  to  his 
heirs  forever,  a  long  strip  of  land  on  the  west  side  of  Pani- 
paspised  river,  where  Sandwich  men  take  alewives — in 
breadth  from  the  river  to  the  hill  or  ridge  that  runs  along 
the  length  of  it,  from  a  point  of  rocky  land  by  a  swamp 
called  Pametoopauksett,  unto  a  place  called  by  the  English 
Muddy  Hole,  by  the  Indians  Wapoompauksett.  "The 
meadow  is  that  which  was  called  Mr.  Leverich's  ;  "  also,  the 
other  strips  that  are  above,  along  the  river  side,  unto  a  point 
bounded  with  two  great  stones  or  I'ocks  ;  also  all  the  meadow 
lying  on  the  easterly  side  of  the  siiid  river  unto  Thomas 
Burgess,  Senior's  farm.*  Also,  "yearly  liberty  to  take 
twelve  thousand  alewives  at  the  river  where  Sandwich  men 
usually  take  alewives,  him  and  his  heirs  forever."  Likewise 
a  parcel  of  meadow  at  Marshpee — one-half  to  belong  to  him 
and  the  other  half  to  be  improved  by  him.  Also,  a  neck  of 
meadow  between  two  brooks  with  a  little  upland  adjoining, 
at  Mannamuchcoy,  called  by  the  Indians  Auntaanta. 

Feb.  7,  1664-5,  "Whereas,  a  motion  was  made  to  this 
Court  by  Richard  Bourne  in  the  behalf  of  those  Indians 
under  his  instruction,  as  to  their  desire  of  living  in  some 
orderly  way  of  government,  for  the  better  preventing  and 
redressing  of  things  amiss  amongst  them  by  meet  and  just 
means,  this  Court  doth  therefore  in  testimony  of  their  coun- 
tenancing and  encouraging  to  such  a  work,  doe  approve  of 


*The  farm  of  Thomas  Burgei5s  was  at  West  Sandwicb,  and  is  no^Y 
owned  by  his  descendant,  Benjamin  Burgess,  Esq.  He  had  also  another 
farm  at  Manomet,  which  adjoined  Mr.  Bourne's  land.  Mr.  Leverich's 
meadow  was  granted  in  1660,  but  fraudulent  means  having  been  used  to 
obtain  It,  the  grant  was  revoked  and  the  meadow  granted  to  Mr.  Bourne 
in  1661.  The  long  track  of  land  above  described  is  near  the  Monument 
station  on  the  Cape  Cod  Bailroad,  the  railway  passing  through  its  whole 
length. 


110  GENEALOGICAL    NOTES    OF   BARNSTABLE    FAIMILIES. 

these  Indians  proposed,  viz  :  Paupmunnacke,*  Keecomsett, 
Watanamatucke  and  Nanquidnumacke,  Kanoonus  and  Mo- 
crust,  to  have  the  chief  inspection  and  managcraent  thereof, 
with  the  help  and  advice  of  the  said  Richard  Bourne,  as  the 
matter  may  require ;  and  that  one  of  the  aforesaid  Indians 
be  by  the  rest  instated  to  act  as  a  constable  amongst  them, 
it  being  always  provided,  notwithstanding,  that  what  homage 
accustomed  legally  due  to  any  superior  Sachem  be  not  here- 
by infringed. — [Colony  Records,  Vol.  4,  page  80.] 

April  2,  1667,  Mr.  Richard  Bourne,  William  Bassett 
and  James  Skiffe,  Senior,  with  the  commissioned  officers  of 
Sandwich,  were  appointed  on  the  Council  of  War.  He  was 
also  on  the  Council  in  1676.  June  24,  1670,  he  and  seven 
others  agreed  to  purchase  all  the  tar  made  within  the  Colony 
for  the  two  years  next  ensuing  at  8  shillings  per  small  bar- 
rel, and  12  shillings  per  large  barrel,  the  same  to  be  deliv- 
ered at  the  water-side  in  each  town. 

Nearly  all  the  purchases  of  land  of  the  Indians  made  in 
Sandwich  or  vicinity  during  the  life-time  of  Mr.  Bourne, 
were  referred  to  him,  a  fact  which  shows  that  the  English 
and  the  Indians  had  confidence  in  him  as  a  man  of  integrity. 

At  the  solicitation  of  Mr.  Bourne,  the  tract  of  land  at 
South  Sea,  containing  about  10,500  acres,  and  known  as  the 
plantation  of  Marshpee,  was  reserved  by  grant  from  the 
Colony  to  the  South  Sea  Indians.  The  late  Rev.  Mr.  Hawly 
of  Marshpee,  says,  "Mr.  Bourne  was  a  man  of  that  discern- 
ment that  he  considered  it  as  vain  to  propagate  Christian 
knowledge  among  any  people  without  a  territory  where 
they  might  remain  in  peace,  from  generation  to  generation, 
and  not  be  ousted."  The  first  deed  of  the  Marshpee  lands 
is  dated  Dec.  11,  1665,  signed  by  Tookenchosen  and  Weep- 
quish,  and  confirmed  unto  them  bj^  Quachateset,  Sachem  of 
Manomett.  In  1685,  the  lands  conveyed  by  said  deed  were 
by  the  Old  Colony  Court  "confirmed  to  them  and  secured 
to  said  South   Sea  Indians  and  their  children  forever,  so  as 

*  Paupmunnacke  was  the  sachem  of  the  Indi.ans  in  the  westerly  part 
of  Barnstable,  at  Scorton,  and  perhaps  of  Marshpee.  Keencumsett  was 
sachem  of  the  Mattakesits.  His  house  stood  a  little  distance  north  of 
the  present  Capt.  Thomas  Percival's.  He  was  constable.  The  residences 
of  the  other  sachems  named  I  cannot  define.  These  facts  show  that  as 
early  as  1665  an  orderly  form  of  government  was  established  among  the 
Indians.  They  held  coui'ts  of  their  own,  tried  criminals,  passed  judg- 
ments, etc.  Mr.  Bourne  and  Gov.  Hinckley  frequently  attended  these 
Indian  courts  and  aided  the  Indian  magistrates  in  difficult  cases. 


GENEALOGICAL    NOTES    OF    BARNSTABLE    FAMILIES.        Ill 

never  to  be  given,  sold  or  alienated  from  them  without  all 
their  consents." 

The  first  marriage  of  Mr.  Richard  Bourne  is  not  on  the 
Colony  Records.  As  he  was  a  householder  in  Plymouth  in 
1636,  it  may  safely  be  inferred  that  he  was  then  a  married 
man.  His  first  wife,  and  the  mother  of  all  his  children,  was 
probably  Bathsheba,  a  daughter  of  Mr.  Andrew  Hallet, 
Senior.  He  married  2d  July,  1677,  Ruth,  widow  of  Jona- 
than VVinslow,  and  daughter  of  Mr.  William  Sargeant  of 
Barnstable.  Mr.  Bourne  died  in  1682,  and  his  widow 
married  Eider  John  Chipman.  She  died  in  1713,  aged  71 
years. 

No  record  of  the  births  of  the  children  of  Richard 
Bourne  has  been  preserved.  His  eldest  son  was  probably 
born  in  Plymouth ;  the  others  in  Sandwich. 

I.      Job  married  Dec.  14,  1664,  Ruhama  Hallet. 

n.    Elisha,  born   1641,   married  Oct.    26,    1675,  Patience 

Skifi-. 
IH.  Shearjashub,  born  1644,  married  Bathshea  Skiff,  1673. 
IV.  Ezra,  born  May   12,   1648.     He  was   living  in   1676, 

when  he  was  fined  £2  as  a  delinquent  soldier. 

Job  Bourne,  son  of  Richard,  married  Dec.  14,  1664, 
his  cousin,  Ruhama,  daughter  of  Andrew  Hallet  of  Yar- 
mouth. He  resided  in  Sandwich,  where  he  was  find  in  1672 
for  not  serving  as  constable.  He  died  in  1676,  leaving  a 
large  landed  estate,  which  was  settled  March  6,  1676-7.  His 
widow  afterwards  married Hersey. 

in  the  record,  which  is  very  full,  it  is  stated  that  the 
deceased  left  five  children,  butthe  names  of  John  and  Hannah 
are  omitted,  probably  by  mistake.  On  the  Barnstable  Pro- 
bate records  is  an  instrument  bearing  date  of  13th  Sept. 
1714,  signed  by  Jonathan  Mory  and  his  wife  Hannah, 
called  a  settlement  of  Job  Bourne's  estate.  In  this  paper 
all  the  children  are  named  excepting  John.  Jonathan's 
mother-in-law,  Ruhama  Hersey,  is  named.  Children  of 
Job  Bourne,  born  in  Sandwich  : 

I.  Timothy,  born   18th  April,  1666,  married  Temperance 
Swift. 

II.  Hannah,    born     18th    Nov.    1667,    married    Jonathan 
Mory,    Esq.,  of  Plymouth. 

III.  Eleazer,  born  20th  July,  1670. 


112  GENEALOGICAL    NOTES  .OF    BARNSTABLE    FAMILIES. 

IV.  John,  born  2d  Nov.  1672.     He  resided  with  his  grand- 
mother Hallet,  at  Yarmouth. 

V.  Hezekiah,  born  25th  Sept.  1675. 

Timothy,  son  of  Job,  married  Temperance  Swift  of 
Sandwich,  and  had  Job,  Benjamin,  Timothy,  Joanna  and 
Mehitable.  His  will  is  dated  in  1729,  and  proved  in  1744. 
His  son  Timothy  married  Elizabeth  Bourne,  and  had  sons 
Benjamin  and  Shearjashub,  H.  C,  1764.     Benjamin,  son  of 

Benjamin,    married   Bodfish,    and    had    Benjamin, 

Timothy,  Sally,  Martha,  Temperance,  Elizabeth  and  Han- 
nah.    Shearjashub  married  Doaiie,  and  had  John, 

Shearjashub,  Elisha,  Abigail,  Nancy  and  Elizabeth. 

Eleazer,  son  of  Job,   married Hatch,  and  had 

Isaac,  Job   and    Mercy.     Job,  son  of  Eleazer,  married 

Swift,  and  had  Thomas,  Thankful,  Maria,  Deborah  and 
Lydia. 

Thomas,  son  of  Job,  married Bourne,  and  had 

Alvan,  Job,  John,  Mary,  Deborah,  Lydia,  Hannah  and 
Abigail . 

.fohn,  son  of  Job,  married  and  had  a  daughter  Amia, 
who  married  a  Sturtevant. 

Hezekiah,  youngest  son  of  Job,  married  Eliza  Trow- 
bridge, and  had  a  son  Ebenezer,  who  married  Annah 
Bumpal,  1746,  and  had  Ebenezer,  .John,  Benjamin,  Mehita- 
ble and  Mary.  Ebenezer,  Jr.,  married  three  wives,  and  had 
four  sons,  John,  Josiah,  Ebenezer  and  Leonard  C.  Benja- 
min, son  of  Ebenezer,  Senior,  married  Hannah  Perry,  and 
had  Alexander,  Ebenezer,  Elisha,  Sylvanus,  Abigail  and 
Bathsheba. 

The  Sylvanus  last  named,  is  the  late  Sylvanus  Bourne, 
Esq.,  of  Wareham,  widely  known  as  the  late  Superintendent 
of  the  Cape  Cod  Eailroad.* 

Elisha  Bourne,  son  of  Richard,  born  in  Sandwich  in 
1641,  resided  at  Manomet,  near  the  present  location  of  the 
Monument  Depot,  on  the  Cape  Cod  Railroad.  He  was  con- 
stable of  Sandwich  in  1683,  and  a  deputy  trom  that  town  to 
the  last  General  Court  held  at  Plymouth  in  1691.     His  will 


*  I  have  a  genealogy  of  the  Bournes  prepared  by  Sylvanus  Bourne ; 
but  it  gives  no  dates,  and  does  not  give  the  Christian  name  of  the  wife. 
It  is  of  little  service.  The  portions  of  this  genealogy  where  dates  and 
the  Christian  names  of  the  wives  are  omitted,  is  copied  from  that  gen- 
ealogy, and  I  cannot  vouch  for  its  accuracy. 


GENEALOGICAL    NOTES    OF    BARNSTABLE    FAMILIES.        113 

is  dated  Jane  9,  1698,  proved  March  3,  1706-7.  He  names 
his  wife  Patience,  his  sons  John  and  Elisha  (the  latter  it  ap- 
pears was  not  in  good  health),  and  his  five  daughters,  Abi- 
gail, Hannah,  Elizabeth,  Mary  and  Bathsheba.  The  estate 
was  finally  settled  by  agreement,  dated  April  8,  1718,  at 
which  time  Mrs.  Bourne  and  her  son  Elisha  were  dead.  The 
agreement  is  signed  by  Nathan,  "only  son,"  and  all  the 
daughters  and  their  husbands. 

Elisha  Bourne  married  26th  Oct.  1675,  Patience, 
daughter  of  James  Skiff,  Esq. ,  of  Sandwich.  She  was  born 
25th  March,  1652,  and  died  in  1718,  aged  66.  He  died  in 
1706. 

Children  born  in  Sandwich. 

I.  Nathan,  born  Aug.  31,  1676,  married  Mary  Basset. 

II.  Elizabeth,  born  June  26,  1679,  married  John  Pope. 

III.  Mary,  born  Feb.  4,  1681-2,  married  John  Percival. 

IV.  Abigail,  born  July  22,  1684,  married  William  Basset, 
Jr. 

V.  Bathsheba,  born  Dec.  13,  1686,  married  Micah  Black 
well. 

VI.  Hannah,  born  May  4,  1689,  married  Seth  Pope. 

VII.  Elisha,  born  July  27,  1692  ;  died  young. 

Nathan,  only  surviving  son  of  Elisha,  was  a  shipwright. 
He  died  in  1789,  in  Hanover.  His  estate  in  that  town  was 
appraised  at   £727.17.2,  and  in    Sandwich  at  £898.18.10; 

a  large  estate  in  those  times.     He  married Basset, 

had  Jonathan,  John,  Nathan,  Elisha,  Thomas,  Maria,  Eliza- 
beth and  Mary.  Jonathan  married  Dec.  22,  1748,  Susannah 
Mendal,  and  had  John,  Elisha,  Nathan,  Maria  and  Abigail. 

John,  son  of  Nathan,  married Dillingham,  and  had 

Edward,  Mary,  Abigail  and  Hannah.     Nathan,  Jr.,  married 

,  and  had  Samuel  and  Remembrance.  Elisha, 

son  of  Nathan,  Senior,  married ,   and   had 

Stephen  and  Eunice.  Thomas,  son  of  Nathan,  Senior,  mar- 
ried    Randall,  and  had   Nathan,  Lemuel,  William, 

Anselm,  Samuel,  Asa,  Bethuel,  Thomas,  Lucy,  Elizabeth 
and  Mary.     Of  the  sixth  generation  of  this  branch  of  the 

family,  Elisha,  son  of  Jonathan,  married  Nye,  and 

had  Jonathan,   Charles,    Hannah,   Mehitable,    Abigail   and 

Joanna.     Stephen,  son  of  Elisha,  married Pope,  and 

had  Elisha  and  Richard. 


114         GENEALOGICAL    NOTES    OF    BARNSTABLE    FAMILIES. 

Shearjashub  Bourne,  Esq.,  son  of  Eiohard,  resided  on 
the  Marshpee  Plantation  until  his  death,  living  in  reputation 
and  presiding  over  the  Indians,  with  whom  he  carried  on  a 
lucrative  trade.  I  cannot  find,  says  Mr.  Hawley,  that  he 
made  any  trespasses  on  their  lands,  or  was  instrumental  in 
bringing  about  an  alienation  of  any  part  thereof.  He  was 
much  employed  in  public  business,  was  often  a  representa- 
tive to  the  General  Court  at  Plymouth  and  in  Boston.  He 
married  in  1673,  Bathsheba,  daughter  of  James  Skiff,  Esq., 
of  Sandwich.  .  She  was  born  20th  April,  1648,  and  was  not 
living  at  the  decease  of  her  husband.  He  died  March  7, 
1718-19,  aged  75.  In  his  will,  dated  on  the  day  next  pre- 
ceding his  death,  he  names  all  his  children,  except  Sarah, 
who  probably  died  young.  To  his  eldest  son  Melatiah,  he 
gave  all  his  lands  in  the  town  of  Falmouth  ;  to  his  son  Ezra 
all  his  lands  in  Marshpee ;  to  bis  grandson  Shearjashub, 
£100  ;  to  his  grandson  Joseph,  £100  ;  to  his  daughter  Mary, 
£200 ;  to  his  daughter  Eemember,  £200 ;  to  his  daughter 
Patience,  £200 ;  and  to  the  Church  in  Sandwich  £8.  His 
estate  was  appraised  at  £943.16. 

He  took  a  deep  interest  in  the  well-being  of  the  Indians 
and  was  their  constant  friend,  and  adopted  measures  to 
secure  to  them  and  their  heirs  forever  their  lands. 

The  children  of  Shearjashub  Bourne,  born  in  Sandwich, 
were : 

I.  Melatiah,  born   12th  Jan'y,   1673-4,  married   Feb.  23, 
1695-6,  Desire  Chipman. 

II.  Ezra,  born  6th  Aug.  1676,  married  Martha  Prince. 

III.  Mary,  born  21st  Oct.  1678,  married Allen. 

IV.  Sarah,  born  6th  Feb.  1680-1. 

V.  Eemember,  born  6th  Feb.  1683-4,  married May- 
hew. 

VI.  Patience,  born  20th  April,  1686,  married Alien. 

Ezra,  the  youngest  son  of  Shearjashub,  inherited  the 

Marshpee  estate  on  which  he  lived,  and  presided  over  the 
Indians,  over  whom  to  the  day  of  his  death,  he  maintained 
a  great  ascendency.  He  was  one  of  the  most  distinguished 
and  influential  men  of  his  time.  He  was  Chief  Ju'stice  of 
the  Court  of  Sessions,  and  Court  of  Common.  Pleas.  He 
died  Sept.  1 764,  in  the  88th  year  of  his  age.  The  late  Eev. 
Gideon  Hawley  of  Marshpee,  says  of  him,  -'In  him  I  lost  a 
good  friend." 


GENEALOGICAL    NOTES    OF    BARNSTABLE    FAMILIES.        115 

Hon.  Ezra  Bourne  married  Martha,  daughter  ot  Samuel 
Prince,  and  had 

I.  Joseph,  who  was  liberally  educated,  and  ordained  as 
the  pastor  of  the  Marshpee  Church  in  1729.  He  re- 
signed the  mission  in  1742.  He  married  July  25, 
1743,  Hannah  Fuller  of  Barnstable,  and  died  in  1767, 
leaving  no  issue. 

II.  Samuel,  son   of  Ezra,  married L'Hommedieu, 

and  had  Benjamin,  Samuel,  Nathaniel,  Nathan,  Tim- 
othy, Sarah  and  Elizabeth,  all  of  whom  married. 

HI.    Ezra,  son  of  Ezra. 

IV.  Searjashub,  married Bosworth,  and  had  Shear- 

jashub,  Benjamin  and  Martha,  all  of  whom  married — 
the  eldest  having  a  family  of  thirteen.  Benjamin  was 
eludge  of  the  District  Court  of  Rhode  Island. 

V.  Martha,  daughter  of  Ezra,  married  a  Mr.  L'Homme- 
dieu. 

VI.  Mary,  daughter  of  Ezra,  married  1733,  John  Angler, 
first  minister  of  East  Bridgewater. 

VII.  Elizabeth,  daughter  of  Ezra,  married  Timothy  Bourne. 
'l"he  descendants  of  Ezra  Bourne,  Esq.,  as  they  are  not 

of  Barnstable,  I  shall  not  trace  farther.  In  1794,  three  of 
his  grandsons  were  members  of  Congress  ;  one  from  Massa- 
chusetts, one  from  Ehode  Island  and  another  from  New- 
York. 

Hon.  Melatiah  Bourne,*  oldest  son  of  Shearjashub 
Bourne,  Esq.,  inherited  his  father's  lands  in  Falmouth,  but 
he  settled  in  Sandwich.  He  was  a  distinguished  man,  held 
many  responsible  offices,  and  during  the  last  years  of  his 
life  was  Judge  of  Probate  for  the  County  of  Barnstable. 
He  married  Feb.  23,  lf)92-3.  Desire,  youngest  daughter  of 
Elder  John  Chipman.  She  died  March  28,  1705,  and  he 
married  second,  Abigail,  widow  of  Thomas  Smith.  In  his 
will,  dated  24th  Sept.  1742,  proved  Feb.  15th  following, 
he  gives  to  the  Sandwich  Church  £10,  old  tenor,  or  50  shil- 
lings lawful  money.  He  names  his  wife  Abigail,  her  sons 
Samuel  and  John  Smith,  her  daughter  Rebecca,  Mary  and 
Isaac,  children  of  her  son  Shubael,  deceased,  and  her 
grandson.  Doctor  Thomas   Smith,  to  all   of  whom  he  gave 


*  His  house  is  yet  remaining  in  Sandwich ;  it  was  most  substantially 
built.  The  cliipboards  on  the  walls  were  shaved  from  cedar  about  an 
inch  ill  thickness,  and  nailed  with  wrought  nails.  They  are  now  tight 
and  as  good  as  new. 


116  GENEALOGICAL    NOTES    OF    BARNSTABLE    FAMILIES. 

legacies.  He  gave  his  cane  to  his  eldest  grandson,  Melatiah, 
and  his  clock  to  his  son  Silas.  Names  his  son  S3^1vanus ; 
gave  to  his  son  John  and  grandson  Joseph,  his  lands  in 
Falmouth.  He  gave  legacies  to  his  daughter  Bathsheba 
Euggles  and  to  each  of  the  children  she  had  by  her  late 
husband,  William  Newcomb.  He  orders  his  negro  man  Nei'o 
to  be  manumitted.  Children  of  Hon.  Melatiah  Bourne  : 
I.         Sylvanns,  Sept.    10,  1694,  married  Mercy  Gorham, 

March  20,  1718. 
n.        Richard,  Aug.  13,  1695  ;  died  in  Falmouth,  1738. 
ni.      Samuel,  Feb'.  7,  1697  ;  died  young. 

IV.  Sarah,  Feb.  7,  1697  ;  died  young. 

V.  John,    March    10,    1698,    married  March  16,  1772, 
Maty  Hinckley. 

VI.  Shearjashub,  Dec.  21,  1699,  married  four  wives. 

VII.  Silas,  Dec.  10,  1701,  married Allen. 

VIII.  Bathsheba,  Nov.    11,   1703,   married  William  New- 
comb;  second,  Timothy  Ruggles,  1736. 

Hon.  Sylvanus  Bourne,  son  of  Melatiah,  of  Sandwich, 
born  Sept.  10,  1694,  married  in  1717,  Mercy,  daughter  of 
Col.  John  Gorham  of  Barnstable.  In  1720,  he  was  an  in- 
habitant of  Falmouth,  but  soon  after  removed  to  Barnstable, 
where  he  resided  till  his  death.  He  bought  the  estate  which 
was  Mr.  James  Whippo's,  who  removed  to  Boston  in  1708. 
Mr.  Thomas  Sturgis,  who  died  that  year,  bought  this  estate 
for  his  son  Edward  ;  but  it  passed  not  many  years  after  into 
the  possession  of  the  Bourne  family,  in  which  it  continued 
about  a  century. 

He  inherited  a  good  estate  from  his  father,  and  his  Avife 
belonged  to  one  of  the  most  wealthy  families  in  Barnstable. 
In  early  life  he  was  a  merchant,  and  engaged  in  commer- 
cial business,  in  which  he  was  successful,  and  became 
wealthy.  He  was  a  Colonel  of  the  militia,  many  years  one 
of  the  Governor's  Council,  Register  of  Probate,  and  after 
the  death  of  his  father  in  1742,  was  appointed  Judge  of 
Probate. 

He  died  in  1764.  In  his  will,  dated  May  20,  1763,  he 
names  hig  sons  Melatiah,  to  whom  he  gives  £66.13  :  Wil- 
liam, £133.6.8;  and  Richard,  £133.6.8.  To  each  of  his 
five  daughters,  namely,  Desire  Clap,  Mary  Stone,  Hannah 
Hinckley,  Mercy  Jordan  and  Eunice  Gallison,  £66.13.4 
each.     He  also  gives  legacies  to  his  grand-children  Reuben, 


GENEALOGICAL    NOTES    OF    15AKNSTABLE    FAMILIES.         117 

Joseph  and  Abigail  Winslow,  children  of  his  deceased 
daughter  Abigail.  He  appoints  his  wife  Mercy  sole  execu- 
trix, and  gives  her  the  residue  of  his  large  estate. 

The  will  of  Mrs.  Mercy  Bourne,  widow  of  Hon.  Sylva- 
nus,  is  dated  July  10,  1781,  and  was  proved  May  28,  1782. 
She  gives  to  her  son  Richard,  all  her  real  estate — lands, 
buildings,  woodlands  and  meadows,  a  silver  hilted  sword 
that  was  his  father's,  a  large  silver  tankard  that  was  his 
grandfather's,  her  best  great  Bible,  two  pair  of  oxen,  one 
cow,  half  her  sheep,  all  her  husbandry  tools,  &c. 

To  her  three  daughters  Desire  Clap,  Mary  Stone  and 
Hannah  Hinckley,  she  gave  all  her  plate  (except  tankai-d  to 
Richard,  and  silver  porringer  to  Mei'cy),  all  her  wearing 
apparel  and  household  furniture,  excepting  what  she  had 
given  Richard,  and  £30  each. 

To  her  granddaughter  Abigail  Gallison,  her  mother's 
work,  called  a  chimney-piece.  Also,  two  mourning  rings, 
her  grandfather  Bourne's  and  her  mother's. 

She  gave  to  her  daughter  Mercy  Jordan,  a  work  called 
the  Coat  of  Arms,  one  silver  porringer  and  £(5,  over  and 
above  what  she  had  already  had  of  her. 

She  also  gave  the  following  legacies  : 

To  the  children  of  her  son  Melatiah,  deceased,  £30. 

To  the  children  of  her  daughter  Abigail,  deceased,  £20. 

To  the  children  of  her  daughter  Eunice,  deceased,  £20. 

To  the  children  of  her  son  William,  £20. 

To  son-in-law  John  Gallison,  Esq.,  £10. 

To  daughter-in-law  Hannah  JBourne,  £3. 

She  gave  her  negro  boy  Cato  to  her  son  Richard,  on 
the  following  conditions,  that  is,,  as  soon  as  the  said  Cato 
shall  arrive  to  the  age  of  35  years,  her  said  son  Richard  shall 
manumit  him.  Her  negro  girl  Chloe  she  gave  "to  such 
daughter  as  Chloe  should  prefer  to  live  with,  the  daughter 
receiving  her  to  pay  such  sum  as  said  girl  shall  be  apprized 
at." 

She  appointed  her  son  Richard  sole  executor  and  resi- 
duary legatee,  and  ordered  him  to  pay  all  the  legacies  in 
silver  dollars  at  six  shillings  each. 

The  portrait  of  Mrs.  Bourne,  painted  by  Copley  in 
1766,  has  been  preserved,  and  some  of  the  worsted  work 
named  in  her  will.  The  old  family  portraits  were  stowed 
away  in  the  garret  of  the  late  Sylvanus  Bourne,  and  finally 


118  GENEALOGICAL    NOTES    OF    BARNSTABLE    FAMILIES. 

removed  to  his  barn,  where  they  were  destroyed  by  fire. 
One  of  them  was  saved ;  and  after  having  been  used  as  a 
target,  is  now  in  the  possession  of  Major  S.  B.  Pliinnoy, 
who  has  had  it  restored.  Pie  also  has  a  view  of  Boston 
Common  talien  more  than  a  century  ago,  wrought  in  worsted, 
which  formerly  belonged  to  his  ancestor,  Colonel  Sylvaniis 
Bourne.  N.  S.  Simpkins,  Esq.,  who  is  also  a  descendant, 
has  a  specimen  of  worsted  work  that  belonged  to  tlie  Bourne 
family. 

The  facts  which  have  been  stated  show  that  Colonel 
Sylvanus  Bourne  was  a  man  of  wealth  ;  and  that  he  lived  in 
the  st^de  of  an  English  country  gentleman.  Facts  are  per- 
haps not  wanting  to  show  that  he  had  little  respect  for  the 
simplicity  of  his  puritan  ancestry.  Some  of  the  family  joined 
the  Episcopal  Cliurch,  and  the  fact  that  Mrs.  Bourne  in  her 
portrait  is  represented  as  holding  in  her  hand  a  copy  of  the 
English  prayer  book,  shows  that  she  had  a  predilection  for 
the  Episcopacy. 

Mrs.  Bourne  joined  the  Barnstable  Church  Sept.  20, 
1724,  and  on  the  Fourth  of  July,  1729,  was  admitted  to  the 
Church  in  the  East  Parish,  being  dismissed  with  many  others 
at  that  time  from  the  West  Parish.  All  her  children  were 
baptized  at  the  Barnstable  Church.  She  died  according  to 
the  inscription  on  her  grave  stones,  April  11,  1782,  in  the 
87th  year  of  her  age. 

The  children  of  Colonel  Sylvanus  Bourne  and  his  wife 
Mercy  Gorham,  were  all  born  in  Barnstable,  except  Mary, 
who  was  born  in  Falmouth. 

Children  horn  in  Barnstable. 

I.  Desire,  born  Jan'y  19,  1718  ;  bap'd  Oct.  4,  1724,  mar- 
ried Nathaniel  Clap,  Esq.,  of  Scituatc,  Dec.  22,  1737. 
He  was  a  son  of  Deacon  Stephen,  and  a  brother  of 
Thomas,  President  of  Yale  College — one  of  the  most 
distinguished  men  of  learninir  of  his  time. 

II.  Mary,  born  April  22,  1720,  bap'd  Oct.  4,  1724,  married 
1742,  Nathaniel  Stone,  Jr.,  of  Harwich. 

III.  Melatiah,  born  Nov.  14,  1722,  l)ap'd  Oct.  4,  1724,  mar- 
ried Mary  Bayard,  niece  of  Gov.  Bowdoin.  His  son, 
Capt.  Sylvanus,  was  Consul  many  years  at  Amsterdam. 
Portraits  of  his  children  taken  at  Amsterdam,  are  in  the 
possession  of  Major  S.  B.  Phinney.  His  son  Meiatiah, 
married    Olive    Gorham,  and    had  Meiatiah,  Sylvanus 


GENEALOGICAL    NOTES    OF    BARNSTABLE    FAMILIES.        119 

and  Olive — the  latter  the  mother  of  Major  S.  B.  Phin- 
ney  of  Barnstable,  and  George  Phinney,  Esq.,  of  North 
Bridgewater.  The  other  children  of  Melatiah  were 
Sarah  and  Mary. 

Melatiah  Bourne,  Esq.,  died  Sept.  1778,  alter  a 
long  and  painful  illness,  aged  56.  His  monument  in  the 
grave-yard,  near  the  Church,  in  the  East  Parish  in 
Barnstable,  says  : 

"He  was  a  gentleman  who,  in  public  employ,  con- 
ducted with  great  reputation  to  himself,  and  honor  to 
his  country.  And  in  the  more  private  walks  of  sociable 
life  exhibited  those  virtues  which  have  raised  in  the 
bosoms  of  those  who  knew  him,  a  monument  that  shall 
exist  when  this  stone  shall  be  mouldered  to  its  native 
dust.  In  him  the  Christian  graces  shone  with  peculiar 
lustre,  and  the  plaudit  of  an  approving  conscience  was 
the  summit  of  his  ambition." 

"  Surely  when  men  like  these  depart, 

The  cause  of  virtue  deeply  feels  the  wound." 

IV.  William,  born  Feb.  27,  1723-4,  bap'd  Oct.  4,  1724. 
Tradition  saith,  and  its  accuracy  is  vouched  for  by  Col. 
Swett,  that  when  a  child  he  was  prostrated  by  an 
apjDalling  disease,  pronounced  by  the  medical  faculty 
incurable.  The  Indians,  who  remembered  all  the 
meml)ers  of  the  Bourne  family  with  affection,  did  not 
despair,  and  came  with  the  medicine  men  of  their  tribe 
to  try  the  effect  of  their  simple  remedies  and  incanta- 
tions. The  tender  mother  did  not  hesitate  to  submit 
her  beloved  son  to  savage  rites  and  Indian  remedies ; 
and  from  that  hour,  says  Col.  Swett,  the  child  was 
made  whole. 

He  served  in  Gorham's  Kangers  at  the  taking  of 
Louisburg  in  1757.  He  settled  in  Marblehead,  and 
was  a  wealthy  merchant.  He  was  a  Justice  of  one  of 
the  Courts.  He  exerted  his  influence  in  procuring  a 
charter  and  raising  funds  to  build  the  bridge  at  New- 
bury, and  for  his  services  he  had  the  honor  to  be  the 
first  to  pass  over  it.  He  was  a  Colonel  of  the 
militia,  and  died  in  1770. 

He  married  for  his  first  wife  a  daughter  of  Lieut. 
Gov.  Hazard,  and  for  his  second  a  dauo;hter  of  Judge 
Tasker,  and  widow  of  James  Fessenden  of  Marblehead. 


120  GENEALOGICAL    NOTES    OP    BARNSTABLE    FAMILIES. 

He  had  three  daughters  :  Clarissa,  Charlotte  and  Fanny. 
One  married  Col.  Orne  of  Marblehead,  another  Dr. 
Swett  of  Newburyport,  and  the  third  Judge  Peabody 
of  Exeter,  N.  H.,  the  father  of  the  authors  of  that 
name. 

[From  the  Boston  Weekly  News  Letter  of  30th  August,  1770.] 

"On  Wednesday  were  interred  the  Eemains  of  the 
Hon.  William  Bourn,  Esq.,  Son  of  the  Hon.  Sylvanus 
Bourn,  Esq.  ;  late  of  Barnstable  : — A  Gentleman  blessed 
with  good  natural  Abilities,  which  were  improved  by  a 
liberal  Education  and  an  extensive  acquaintance  with 
the  world. 

In  early  Life  he  was  engaged  in  the  military  Service, 
and  has  since  been  constantly  honored  with  public  Em- 
ployments, which  he  filled  with  dignity,  and  discharged 
with  uprightness. 

In  the  vale  of  private  life,  where  merit  is  impartially 
examined,  his  worth  was  conspicuous  :  His  vivacity, 
frankness,  and  delicacy  of  sentiment,  endeared  him  to 
every  acquaintance,  and  to  his  honor,  his  free,  social 
hours  will  long  be  remembered  by  ihem  with  delight. 

The  goodness  of  his  heart  and  the  integrity  of  his 
life  corresponded  to  the  clearness  of  his  head ;  so  that 
he  beheld  with  philosophic  firmness  and  Christian  re- 
signation his  approaching  dissolution  ;  and,  a  few  days 
before  his  death,  discovered  an  uncommon  vigor  and 
serenit}'  of  mind  in  the  orderly  disposition  of  his  af- 
fairs. 

Quis  desiderio  sit  pudor  aut  modus  Tam  cari  capitis  ? 
>  &c.,  to  Quando  ullum  inveniet  parem." 

V.  Hannah,  born  Dec.  8,  1725,  bap'd  Jan'y  9,  172(5, 
married  Isaac  Hinckley,  Jr.,  Dec.  18,  1748,  of  Barrl- 
stable.     She  had  eight  children. 

VI.  Mercy,  born  Monday,  Aug.  22,  1727,  says  the  record, 
and  bap'd  Aug.  27,  following.  She  m-arried  Samuel 
Jordan,  Esq.,  of  Biddeford,  Maine,  April  10,  1751. 

VII.  Abigail,  born  Saturday,  June  21,  1729,  bap'd  next 
day  according  to  Puritan  custom.  She  married  March 
14,  1754,  Kenelm  Winslow,  Jr.,  ot  Marshfield.  She 
died  before  her  father,  leaving  three  children  as  above 
stated. 


GENEALOGICAL    NOTES    OF    BARNSTABLE    FAMILIES.         121 

VIII.  Sylvanus,  horn  (says  the  town  record,  and  his  grave- 
stones), Nov.  21,  1731,  and  bap'd,  according  to  the 
church  records,  on  the  14th  of  the  same  month.  He 
married  Feb.  3,  1757,  Hannah  Sturgis.  He  had  no 
children.  Before  leaving  for  Cape  Breton  he  made 
his  will,  dated  May  24,  1758  ;  but  it  was  not  proved 
till  July  16,  1761.  He  styles  himself  a  merchant,  and 
says  he  is  bound  on  a  dangerous  enterprise.  He  gave 
his  whole  estate  to  his  wife.  He  died  suddenly  at 
Martha's  Vineyard,  May  22,  1761.  He  was  then  a 
captain  in  the  provincial  army,  and  was  recruiting  men 
for  the  service,  in  which  he  had  been  employed  several 
years.  He  was  29  years  of  age.  The  inventory  of 
his  estate  amounted  to  £122.9,  including  a  small  stock 
of  merchandize.  His  widow  died  June  13,  1798, 
aged  62. 

IX.  Eunice,  born  Feb.  16,  1732-3,  bap'd  on  the  25th  of  the 
same  month;  married  June  19,  1754,  Capt.  John  Gal- 
lison  of  Marblehead.  Her  grandson,  John,  was  a  dis- 
tinguised  Counsellor  at  Law. 

X.  Eichard,  born  Nov.  1,  1739,  bap'd  18th  of  same  month. 
He  was  a  physician,  and  though  he  usually  laid  his  sad- 
dle bags  and  spurs  on  his  table  every  night,  so  that  he 
could  promptly  respond  to  a  call,  he  rarely  had  a  patient. 
He  was  a  very  different  raiin  from  his  brothers.  He  in- 
herited none  of  the  energy  of  character  and  good  busi- 
ness habits  of  his  ancestors.  He  was  a  man  of  feeble  in- 
tellectual power, — simple-minded  and  incapable  of  mak- 
ing much  exertion.  He  was  a  well  educated  man,  and  it 
has  been  remarked  of  him  by  persons  well  qualified  to 
judge,  that  he  had  a  good  knowledge  of  the  theory  and 
practice  of  medicine ;  but  being  wanting  in  judgment, 
his  learning  was  of  no  practical  advantage  to  him.  He 
was  very  courteous  and  gentlemanly  in  his  habits,  and 
one  of  the  most  accommodatina:  and  obliging  of  men. 
He  was  the  first  Postmaster  in  Barnstable,  an  office  which 
he  held  many  years,  and  the  Barnstable  Social  Library 
was  kept  at  his  house.  For  many  years  he  was  i.he  only 
Postmaster,  and  his  house  was  a  place  of  frequent  resort. 
At  first,  there  was  only  a  weekly  mail ;  afterwards  a 
semi-weekly,  and  in  1812  a  tri-weekly — only  two  how- 

.    ever  were  paid  for  by  the  Post  Office  Department ;  the 


122  GENEALOGICAL    NOTES    OF    BARNSTABLE    FAMILIES. 

third  was  paid  by  private  siihscriptions.  The  mail  left 
Boston  about  four  o'clock  in  the  morning,  and  was  due 
in  Barnstable  at  eight  in  the  evening.  During  the  war 
the  people  were  anxious  to  obtain  the  news,  and  the  men 
of  the  neighborhood,  and  messengers  from  distant  parts 
of  the  town,  assembled  at  the  post-office  on  the  evening 
of  the  days  when  a  mail  was  due.  It  was  also  a  favorite 
resort  for  boys  who  were  very  troublesome  to  the  doctor. 
On  winter  evenings  when  the  mail  was  delayed  by  the  bad 
condition  ot  the  roads,  or  a  storm,  a  large  company  as- 
sembled in  the  doctor's  parlor.  The  men  were  usually 
seated  in  a  semi-circle  around  the  fire,  and  the  boys  were 
seated  on  the  floor  with  their  feet  pushed  between  the 
rundles  of  the  chairs  to  obtain  some  warmth  from  the  fire. 
The  doctor  had  a  few  stereotype  stories  which  he  re- 
peated every  evening,  the  scenes  whereof  were  laid  in 
Maine,  where  he  resided  some  time  when  a  young  man. 

His  wife  was  a  very  intelligent  woman,  and  their  only 
child,  Abigail,  was  a  kind-hearted  and  accomplished 
lady,  extremely  courteous  and  obliging  to  all  who  called 
at  the  office,  or  to  obtain  books  from  the  Social  Library, 
of  which  she  took  the  charge.  After  the  death  of  her 
parents  she  married  her  relative,  Nathan  Stone,  Esq.,  of 
Dennis. 

Doctor  Bourne  was  temperate  in  his  habits ;  that  is 
he  never  was  intoxicated  at  his  own  expense.  During 
his  time,  there  were  few  who  could  say  as  much  in  their 
own  vindication.  It  was  fashionable  at  that  time  for  the 
men  to  assemble  fi'equently  at  the  taverns,  where  they 
often  remained  till  late,  drinking,  carousing,  and  some- 
times to  gamble.  The  doctor  was  sometimes  invited  to 
these  parties.  He  sung  the  same  song  "Old  King  Cole," 
on  all  festive  occasions.  After  two  or  three  drams,  he 
would  sinffhis  song,  which  would  cause  infinite  diversion 
to  the  company.  Liquor  deprived  the  doctor  of  the  little 
wit  he  ordinarily  had,  and  his  grotesque  acts  and  uncouth 
expressions  rendered  him  a  boon  companion.  The  story 
of  one  of  these  adventures  was  often  told  by  the  late 
Abner  Davis,  Esq.,  who  probably  added  some  embellish- 
ments of  his  own,  for  there  were  few  men  who  could  tell 
a  story  better  than- he. 

About  the  year  1810,  Doctor  Bourne  was  invited  to 


GENEALOGICAL    NOTES    OF    BARNSTABLE    FAMILIES.        123 

attend  a  Christmas  party  at  Hyannis.  He  rode  his  gray 
mare,  which  did  him  excellent  service  for  twenty  years, 
and  arrived  at  the  place  appointed  soon  after  sunset. 
There  was  an  abundance  of  liquor  oh  the  table,  and  the 
doctor  was  frequently  pressed  to  partake  thereof.  The 
company  had  a  jolly  time,  the  doctor  repeatedly  sung 
his  favorite  song,  and  told  the  story  of  his  adventures  in 
Maine.  It  was  twelve  o'clock  when  the  party  separated, 
and  the  doctor  had  to  be  helped  on  to  his  horse.  It  was 
a  clear,  moonlight  evening,  the  ground  was  covered  with 
snow  and  a  north-west  wind  rendered  the  air  cold  and 
piercing.  He  had  to  pass  four  miles  through  woods, 
and  along  a  narrow  road  on  which  no  inhabitants  resided. 
The  horse  knew  the  way  better  than  the  master,  and  if 
the  animal  could  have  had  its  own  way  the  rider  would 
have  escaped  the  perils  he  soon  after  encountered.  Rid- 
ing about  a  mile  he  left  the  direct  road  and  turned  into 
the  way  that  leads  to  Half-Way  Pond.  He  had  not 
travelled  far  before  he  caught  sight  of  a  rotten  stump 
which  reflected  a  phosphorescent  light.  The  doctor 
imagined  it  was  a  fire,  and  as  his  feet  were  very  cold,  he 
dismounted,  pulled  ofi"  his  boots  and  placed  his  feet  on 
the  stump.  When  sufficiently  warm,  he  remounted ; 
but  unfortunately  omitted  to  put  on  his  boots.  He  wan- 
dered about  the  woods  till  morning,  when  he  found  his 
way  out.  On  arriving  at  the  main  i-oad,  instead  of  turn- 
ing westerly  towards  his  own  house,  he  turned  in  an 
opposite  direction,  and  urged  his  beast  into  a  gallop.  He 
had  not  rode  far,  when  he  met  Abner  Davis,  Esq.,  and 
several  gentlemen  of  his  acquaintance.  He  suddenly 
reined  up  his  horse,  and  accosted  them  thus  :  "Gentle- 
men," said  he,  "can  you  tell  me  whether  I  am  in  this 
town  or  the  next?"  Mr.  Davis  replied,  "You  are  in 
this  town  now,  but  if  you  drive  on  you  will  soon  be  in 
the  next."  The  company  perceiving  that  he  had  no 
boots,  and  that  he  was  wild  and  excited,  invited  him  to 
a  house  where  he  was  furnished  with  a  warm  breakfast 
and  a  pair  of  boots.  After  resting  a  few  hours  he  rode 
home  ;  but  it  was  several  days  before  he  entirely  recov- 
ered from  the  excitement  and  fatigue  of  his  Christmas 
frolic. 

Often  when  waiting  for  the  mails  in  the  doctor's  parlor 


124  GENEALOGICAL    NOTES    OF    BARNSTABLE    FAMILIES. 

there  would  be  a  knock  at  the  door  of  the  office.  The 
doctor  would  open  the  door,  and  with  his  usual  suavity 
of  manner,  would  say,  '-Good  evening,  sir."  The  reply 
would  sometimes  be,  "Doctor,  I  just  cklled  to  inquire 
whether  or  not  you  have  found  your  boots  ?  "  At  other 
times  the  inquiry  would  be,  "Am  I  in  this  town  or  the 
next?"  These  inquiries  irritated  the  doctor,  and  he 
would  grasp  his  whip,  which  he  kept  hanging  by  the 
door,  and  make  a  dash  at  the  boys,  who  always  took  the 
precaution  to  be  beyond  the  reach  of  the  lash. 


AN    EKROR    CORRECTED. 

"A  few  years  before  his  death,  Matthew  Cobb,  Esq., 
succeeded  him  in  the  office  of  Postmaster.  This  was  a  great 
grief  to  him,  and  was  regretted  by  many.  However  simple 
or  foolish  the  doctor  may  have  been,  he  was  a  very  accom- 
modating officer,  and  took  much  pains  to  ascertain  the^resi- 
dences  of  parties,  and  forward  them  their  letters  or  papers. 
On  the  settlement  of  his  accounts,  he  was  found  to  be  a 
defaulter  for  nearly  a  thousand  dollars,  which  was  levied  on 
his  estate,  and  rendered  him  poor  at  the  close  of  his  life. 
His  accounts  were  not  carefully  kept,  and  several  who  ex- 
amined them  were  of  the  opinion  that  he  was  not  a  defaulter  ; 
that  he  had  neglected  to  take  vouchers  for  several  sums 
of  money  he  paid  over,  and  he  was  therefore  unable  to 
prove  that  he  had  faithfully  accounted  for  the  receipts  of  his 
office." 

When  writing  the  above  paragraph,  I  had  the  impres- 
sion in  my  mind  that  subsequently  it  was  ascertained  that 
the  errors  were  committed  at  the  Post  Office  Department, 
and  not  by  the  doctor  ;  but  those  of  whom  I  inquired  had  a 
different  impression.  No  one  of  whom  I  inquired  seemed  to 
know  certainly.  I  am  now  happy  in  being  able  to  state  that 
Doctor  Bourne  was  not  a  defaulter.  Asa  Young,  Esq.,  who 
was  his  agent,  informs  me  that  Doctor  Bourne's  property  had 
been  set  off  by  execution,  sold,  and  the  proceeds  paid  over 
to  the  Department,  when  it  was  ascertained  that  the  error 
occurred  at  the  Post  Office  Department.  The  money  was  re- 
funded, and  the  draft  for  the  same  was  received  by  Miss 
Abigail  Bourne,  the  sole  heir,  on  the  very  day  she  was  mar- 
ried to  Nathan  Stone,  Esq. — a  most  happy  coincidence. 

According  to  the  doctor's  accounts,  kept  by   his  daugh- 


GENEALOGICAL    NOTES    OF    BARNSTABLE    EAklLIES.         125 

ter  Abigail,  he  owed  the  Department  thirty  dollars  when  his 
tiiiccessor  was  appointed.  This  sum  was  laid  aside  to  be 
paid  over  when  called  for.  Subsequent  investigation  proved 
that  Doctor  Bourne's  accounts  were  right.  His  property 
was  wrongfully  taken  from  him,  and  he  did  not  live  till  it 
was  rectitied. 

Justice  to  Doctor  Richard  Bourne  as  an  honest  and 
honorable  man,  requires  this  correction  to  be  made,  and 
those  who  preserve  tiles  of  my  papers  are  requested  to  note 
this  fact  in  the  margin  of  No.  28,  that  the  money  was  subse- 
quently refunded  by  the  Post  Office  Department. 

He  died  in  Barnstable  April  25,  1826,  aged  86  years. 
His  wife  died  in  Barnstable  March  5,  1826,  aged  85  years. 

I.  Capt.  Richard  Bourne,  a  son  of  Melatiah,  born  Aug. 
13,  1695,  was  an  officer  in  the  army,  and  distinguished 
himself  at  Norridgwalk.  He  settled  in  Falmouth,  whei'e 
he  died  in  1738,  leaving  no  issue. 

II.  John  Bourne,  son  of  Melatiah,  born  March  10,  1698, 
married  March  16,  1722,  Mercy,  daughter  of  Joseph 
Hinckley  of  Barnstable.  He  removed  to  Falmouth  and 
had  Joseph,  John,  David,  Thomas,  Sarah,  Mary,  Eliza- 
beth and  Mary.  All  the  sons,  excepting  Thomas,  mar- 
ried and  had  families.  Mr.  John  Bourne,  the  father  of 
this  family,  died  early  in  life,  leaving  a  good  estate. 

III.  Shearjashub,  son  of  Melatiah,  born  Dec.  21,  1699.  He 
received  his  degrees  at  Harvard  College  in  1720,  and 
was  ordained  pastor  of  the  First  Church  in  Scituate, 
Dec.  3,  1724.  He  married  1725,  Abigail,  daughter  of 
Rev.  Roland  Cotten  of  Sandwich,  and  had  Elizabeth, 
1726  ;  Abigail,  1727  ;  Desire,  1728  ;  Bathsheba,  1730  ; 
Shearjashub  in  1732,  who  died  young.  His  first  wife 
died  in  1732,  and  he  married  in  1738,  Sarah  Brooks  of 
Medford,  by  whom  he  had  one  son,  Shearjashub,  born 
in  1739.  His  second  wife  died  in  1742,  and  he  married 
in  1750,  Deborah  Barker,  by  whom  he  had  one  son, 
Roland,  born  the  same  year.  His  third  wife  died  in 
1750,  and  he  married  in  1757,  Joanna  Stevens  of  Rox- 
bury. 

He  was  a  man  of  feeble  constitution,  and  depressed 
and  melancholy  spirits.  In  1755,  his  health  was 
impaired  by  a  paralytic  affection.  He  tendered  his 
resignation  of  the  pastoral   office,  and  Aug.   6,  1761, 


126  GENEALOGICAL    NOTES    OF    BARNSTABLE    FAMILIES. 

was  dismissed ;  his  society  generously  presenting  him 
with  £100,  and  the  use  of  the  parsonage  for  a  year  and 
a  half.  From  Scituate  he  removed  to  Roxbury,  the 
native  place  of  his  wife,  where  he  died  Aug  14,  1768, 
in  the  69th  year  of  his  age. — [See  Deane's  Scituate, 
pages  186  and  187.] 


BURSLEY. 


,  JOHN   BURSLEY. 

Mr.  John  Bursley,  the  ancestor  of  the  families  of  this 
name,  came  over  very  early,  probably  before  Gov.  Endicot. 
From  what  part  of  England  he  came,  1  have  not  ascertained. 
There  is  a  parish  in  England  called  "Burslem,"  and  as  sur- 
names often  originated  in  the  names  of  places  or  trades,  it  is 
probable  that  some  of  his  ancestors  resided  in  that  parish.* 
The  name  is  variously  written  on  the  old  records, — Burs- 
lem, Burslin,  Burslyn,  Burseley,  Bursly.  When  first 
named,  he  is  styled  Mr. — a  title  of  respect  in  early  times. 
He  appears  to  have  been  an  active  business  man,  engaged 
in  the  fisheries,  and  in  trade  with  the  Indians,  and  a  planter. 

He  may  have  been  a  member  of  the  Dorchester  Com- 
pany, that  settled  at  Cape  Ann  in  1624.  In  1629,  he  was 
at  Wessaguscus,  now  Weymouth,  where  he  was  an  associate 
of  Mr.  William  Jeff^rey.  The  following  assessment  levied  to 
defray  the  expenses  of  the  arrest  and  sending  of  Merton  to 
England  in  1628,  proves  that  he  was  a  resident  in  the  coun- 
try prior  to  1629.  This  is  the  oldest  tax  bill  on  record,  and 
shows  the  comparative  wealth  or  ability  of  the  difi'erent 
settlements  in  1629  : 


*  Sur-names  were  often  suggested  by  the  appearance,  character  or 
history  of  the  individual.  Burse  is  a  purse ;  hence  the  name  of  Bursely 
may  have  originated  thus — "Jolin  the  Burser,"  or  treasurer,  and  in 
course  of  time  contracted  to  "John  Bursley."  The  importance  of  sign- 
ing all  legal  and  other  instruments  with  the  Christian  name 
written  at  full  length  is  not  well  understood.  The  "Christian"  name  is 
the  "signatui-e."  It  is  not,  however,  so  important  now  as  formerly,  that 
It  should  be  written  at  full  length.  Legally,  the  man  who  writes  only 
the  initial  letter  of  his  Christian  name,  only  "makes  his  mark;"  he  does 
not  "sign"  the  document. 


128  GENEALOGICAL    NOTES    OF    BARNSTABLE    FAMILIES. 

Plymouth,          .                   -         -                             -  £2.10 

Naumkeak,  (Salem,)     -        -         -        -         -         -  1.10. 

Piscataquack,  (Portsmouth,)       -                   -         -  2.10 
Mr.  Jeffrey  and  Mr.  Burslem,  Wessaguscus,  (Wey- 
mouth,)            2.00 

Nantascot,  (Hull,)    - 1.10 

Mrs.  Thompson,  (Squantum  Neck,)        -         -         -  15 

Mr.  Blackstone,  (Boston,)                   -                   -  12 

Edward  Hilton,  (Dover,)     -           -         -         -         -  1.00 

£12.7 

Mr.  Savage  says  that  Mr.  Bursley  was  an  early  settler 
at  Weymouth ;  reckoned  some  three  or  four  years  among 
"old  planters."  That  he  was  early  of  Weymouth,  is  evident 
from  the  record  of  the  proceedings  May  14,  1634,  in  relation 
to  his  servant  Thomas  Lane.  Lane  "having  fallen  lame  and 
impotent,  became  chargeable  to  the  town  of  Dorchester,  his 
then  place  of  residence.  The  General  Court  investigated 
the  questions  at  issue,  and  ordered  that  the  inhabitants  of 
Wessaguscus  should  pay  all  the  charges  of  his  support." 
From  this  it  appears  that  Lane  had  previously  to  1634,  re- 
sided a  sufGcient  length  of  time  at  Wessaguscus,  as  the  ser- 
vant of  Mr.  John  Bursley,  to  make  the  inhabitants  of  that 
place  legally  chargeable  for  his  support. 

Mr.  Palfrey,  in  his  history  of  New  England,  says  the 
cottages  of  Mr.  Jeffrey  and  Mr.  Burslem  probably  stood  at 
Winnisimmet,  now  Chelsea.  The  foregoing  abstracts  from 
the  records  show  that  he  was  mistaken  in  his  supposition. 
It  also  appears  that  John  Bursley  was  one  of  the  assessors 
of  Dorchester,  June  2,  1634. 

From  1630  to  1635,  Wessaguscus  appears  to  have  been 
included  within  the  corporate  limits  of  Dorchester.  Oct. 
19,  1630,  Mr.  Bursley  and  Mr.  Jeffrey  requested  to  be  ad- 
mitted freemen  of  Massachusetts,  and  were  sworn  in  the 
18th  of  May  following.  They  were  then  called  Dorchester 
men,  though  residents  at  Wessaguscus,  which  was  incor- 
porated in  1635,  and  named  Weymouth. 

Mr.  Bursley  was  deputy  from  Weymouth  to  the  JMassa- 
chusetts  Greueral  Court,  May,  1636,  and  was  appointed  a 
member  of  the  Committee  to  take  the  valuation  of  the  estates 
in  the  Colony.  He  and  two  others  were  elected  to  the 
September  term  of  the    Court;    but   it   was   decided    that 


GENEALOGICAL    NOTES    OF    BARNSTABLE    FAMILIES.        129 

Weymouth,  being  a  small  town,  was  not  entitled  to  send 
three  deputies,  and  he  and  John  Upham  were  dismissed. 
In  Nov.  1637,  he  was  appointed  hy  the  Court  a  member  of 
a  committee  to  measure  and  run  out  a  three  mile  boundary 
line.  In  May,  1639,  he  removed  to  Barnstable,  in  company 
with  Mr.  Thomas  Dimmock  of  Scituate,  and  Mr.  Joseph 
Hull  of  Weymouth,  to  whom  the  lands  in  Barnstable  had 
been  granted  by  the  Plymouth  Colony  Court.  In  1643  and 
1645  he  was  at  Exeter;  in  1647  at  Hampton  and  Kittery ;  • 
Sept.  9,  1650,  at  Neweechwannook ;  and  at  Kittery  fronp 
1650  to  Nov.  1652.  Excepting  at  Kittery,  he  did  not  reside 
long  at  either  of  these  places, — he  visited  them  and  the  Isles 
of  Shoals,  when  his  father-in-law  was  settled  in  the  ministry, 
and  other  places  on  the  coast,  for  the  purposes  of  trade,  his 
family  residing  at  Barnstable.  In  1645,  he  is  called  of 
Exeter,  yet  he  was  that  year  chosen  constable  of  Barnsta- 
ble, sworn  at  the  June  Court,  and  served  in  that  office.  In 
1(547,  he  is  called  of  Kittery,  yet  he  was  that  year  one  of 
the  grand  jurors  from  the  town  of  Barnstable.  These  facts 
show  that  his  residence  in  the  eastern  country  was  not  per- 
manent. 

In  1652,  the  General  Court  of  Massachusetts  appointed 
a  commission  to  assume  jurisdiction  over  the  township  of 
Kittery,  and  require  the  inhabitants  to  submit  to  the  gov- 
ernment of  that  Colony.  A  meeting  of  the  inhabitants  was 
called  on  the  15th  of  Nov.,  and  while  the  matter  was  under 
consideration,  "complaints  were  made  against  one  Jno. 
Bursly*  for  uttering  threatening  words  against  the  Commis- 
sioners, and  such  as  should  submit  to  the  government  of 
Massachusetts."  "The  said  Bursly  uppon  his  examination 
at  length  in  open  Court,  did  confess  the  words,  and  uppon 


*  "One  Jno.  Bursly."  Mr.  Bursley  was  well-known  to  the  Commis- 
sioners, for  some  of  them  had  been  his  associates  in  the  General  Court 
of  Massachusetts.  The  right  of  that  Colony  to  assume  the  jurisdiction 
claimed,  to  say  the  least  of  the  matter,  was  doubtful.  The  Bursleys  of 
the  present  day  are  firm  and  unwavering  in  the  support  of  their  opinioi^ 
and  never  yield  a  point  that  is  just  and  for  their  interest  to  maintain. — 
Their  ancestor  it  is  to  be  presumed  was  as  Arm  and  unyielding  as  any  of 
his  descendants,  and  would  not  be  overawed  by  the  Commissioners. — 
They  say  in  their  return — "Bursly  submitted."  He  resisted  their  au- 
thority and  refused  to  sign  the  articles  of  submission  which  were  signed 
by  forty-one  of  the  inhabitants.  Their  own  record  shows  that  he  fear- 
lessly exercised  his  right  as  a  freeman,  and  the  Commissioners  vented 
their  spleen  by  contemptuously  calling  him  "one  Jno.  Bursly." 


130  GENEALOGICAL    NOTES    OF    BARNSTABLE    FAMILIES. 

his  submission  was  discharged."  After  much  debate  forty- 
one  of  the  inhabitants  submitted ;  but  Mr.  Bursly  was  not 
of  the  number.  He  returned  to  Barnstable,  and  it  does  not 
appear  that  he  afterwards  visited  the  eastern  country. 

Mr.  John  Bursley  married  Nov.  28,  1639,  Joanna, 
daughter  of  Eev.  Joseph  Hull  of  Barnstable.  The  marriage 
was  solemnized  in  Sandwich,  no  one  in  Barnstable  being 
then  authorized  to  officiate.  He  resided  in  the  house  of  his 
father-in-law,  which  stood  near  where  Capt.  Thomas  Harris' 
now  stands,  till  about  the  year  1650,  when  he  removed  to 
the  Bursley  farm  at.  West  Barnstable.  His  first  house  was 
built  on  the  north  side  of  the  County  Koad  across  the  little 
run  of  water,  and  about  one  hundred  yards  north  easterly 
from  the  barn  of  the  present  Mr.  Charles  H.  Bursley.  The 
remains  of  the  old  chimney  and  the  ancient  hearthstone  were 
removed  not  many  years  ago.  An  incident  in  his  personal 
history  which  occurred  during  his  residence  at  the  old  house 
has  been  preserved  by  tradition.  The  low  land  in  front  or 
south  of  the  house  was  then  a  quag-mire.  One  day  when 
he  was  confined  to  the  house  with  a  broken  leg,  and  when 
all  the  male  members  of  the  family  were  absent,  a  calf  sunk 
in  the  quag-mire,  and  would  have  been  lost  without  assist- 
ance. The  women  were  alarmed,  being  unable  to  extricate 
the  calf.  Mr.  Bursley  directed  them  to  fasten  a  rope  around 
it,  and  pass  the  end  into  the  house.  They  did  so,  and  with 
his  aid,  the  calf  was  drawn  out  and  saved. 

The  ancient  Bursley  mansion  was  taken  down  in  1827. 
The  John  Bursley,  then  living,  born  in  1741,  said  it  was 
one  hundred  and  thirty  years  old,  according  to  the  best  in- 
formation he  could  obtain.  This  would  give  the  year  1697, 
as  the  date  at  which  it  was  built.  He  had  no  record  of  the 
time ;  he  knew  its  age  only  from  tradition,  and  was  mis- 
taken. A  house  was  standing  on  the  same  spot  in  1686, 
when  the  County  Road  was  laid  out,  and  was  then  occupied 
by  the  Wid.  Joanna  Davis,  who  had  previously  been  the 
wife  of  the  first  John  Bursley.  The  description  given  of 
the  house  at  the  time  of  the  death  of  the  second  John  Burs- 
ley in  1726,  corresponds  very  nearly  with  its  appearance  in 
1827,  showing  that  few  alterations  had  been  made.  The 
style  was  that  of  the  wealthy  among  the  first  settlers.  The 
Bacon  house,  which  has  been  described,  was  built  in  1642. 
The  style  of  the  Bursley  house  was  the  same,  only  it  was 


GENEALOGICAL    NOTES    OF    BARNSTABLE    FAMILIES.        131 

originally  a  larger  and  better  building.  As  late  as  1690, 
dwelling  bouses  were  built  in  a  very  similar  style,  and  tbere 
was  a  general  resemblance.  Both  had  heavy  cornices,  the 
front  roof  was  shorter  and  sharper  than  the  rear.  The  more 
ancient  houses  were  lower  in  thg  walls,  especially  the  cham- 
bers, and  the  sleepers  of  the  lower  floors  were  laid  on  the 
ground,  leaving  the  large  sills  used  in  those  days,  projecting 
into  the  rooms. 

The  style  of  the  old  Bursley  house  indicated  its  early 
origin,  and  there  seems  to  be  no  good  reason  to  doubt  that 
it  was  built  by  the  first  John  Bursley,  before  the  year  1660. 
If  it  was  a  matter  of  any  importance,  it  could  be  shown  by 
other  facts  that  the  house  was  built  before  1660.  I  have 
pursued  the  inquiry  thus  far  mainly  to  show  how  uncertain 
and  unreliable  is  tradition,  especially  in  regard  to  time. 

The  Bursley  farm  at  West  l^arnstable  is  thus  described 
on  the  town  records  : 

Forty-five  acres  of  upland,  more  or  less,  bounded  partly 
by  two  rivers  that  run  into  Boat  Cove,  and  partly  by  the 
Commons,  as  it  is  marked  out. 

Feb.  1655.  Eighty  acres  of  upland,  more  or  less, 
bounded  easterly  by  Boat  Cove,  westerly  by  a  runlet,  ad- 
joining Goodman  Fitz  Eandle's,  southerly  partly  by  Mr. 
Linnell's  and  partly  by  ye  Commons,  northerly  to  the 
marsh. 

Fifteen  acres  of  marsh,  more  or  less,  bounded  eastei'ly 
by  Boat  Cove,  westerly  by  Goodman  Fitz  Handle's,  north- 
erly to  a  creek,  southerly  to  his  upland. 

The  eighty  acres  on  the  north  side  of  the  road,  is 
bounded  on  three  sides  by  water ;  a  very  desirable  location 
because  the  water  courses  saved  much  labor  and  expense  in 
building  fences.  The  soil  is  generally  a  strong  loam,  free 
of  rocks,  and  good  grass  land.  From  the  first  it  has  been 
carefully  cultivated,  and  is  now  one  of  the  most  fertile  and 
productive  farms  in  Barnstable.  Forty  acres  of  the  upland 
on  the  north  side  of  the  road  are  now  owned  by  a  lineal  de- 
scendant, Mr.  Charles  H.  Bursley,  and  thirty  by  Frederick 
Parker,  Esq. 

The  first  John  Bursley  died  in  1660.  The  inventory  of 
his  estate,  taken  Aug.  21,  of  that  year  by  John  Smith  and 
John  Chipman,  amounted  to  only  £115.5.  I  do  not  know 
whether  this  sum  covered  both  the  real  and  personal  estate. 


132  GENEALOGICAL    NOTES    OF    BARNSTABLE    FAMILIES. 

but  presume  it  did.  I  copy  from  the  Genealogical  Register, 
in  which  only  the  gross  is  given.  The  same  estate  was  ap- 
praised at  £137.13.10  in  1726.  1  have  called  Mr.  Bursley 
wealthy.  Wealth  is  a  comparative  term,  and  when  a  man 
is  called  rich,  a  great  variety  of  circumstances  are  taken  into 
account.  \\  hat  was  the  cash  value  of  Mr.  Bursley's  farm 
at  the  time  of  his  death,  has  little  to  do  with  the  question. 
Eight  years  after,  the  Blush  farm,  now  Bodfish's,  the  next 
west,  excepting  one,  sold  for  £5.10.  This  Avas  worth  about 
one-third  of  the  Bursley  farm,  exclusive  of  buildings.  A 
common  one-story  house  at  that  time  cost  only  about  £5. 
That  was  the  price  paid  William  Chase  for  building  the  first 
liallett  house  in  Yarmouth.  Very  little  glass,  lime,  iron 
or  brick,  was  used  in  those  days,  and  the  expense  of  lumber 
was  the  cost  of  cutting  and  sawing  it.  They  were  very 
rudely  constructed,  and  as  late  as  1700,  it  was  not  common 
for  the  walls  of  a  house  to  be  plastered.  The  joints  between 
the  boards  were  filled  with  clay  or  mortar.  The  meeting 
house  built  in  1725,  in  the  East  Parish,  was  constructed  in 
that  manner.  A  house  like  the  ancient  Bursley  mansion 
would  not,  when  that  was  built,  have  cost  more  than  £50 
sterling.  Very  little  money  was  in  circulation  in  those 
times,  and  as  a  consequence  prices  ruled  very  low.  It  is 
said  on  good  authority,  and  there  can  be  no  doubt  of  its 
truth,  that  in  the  year  1675,  five  hundred  pounds  in  money 
could  not  be  raised  in  Plymouth  Colony;  and,  for  a  good 
reason,  there  was  not  so  much  money  in  the  Colony. 

In  1669,  the  Otis  farm,  about  half  a  mile  east  of  the 
Bursley,  was  bought  for  £150.  The  latter  was  then  much 
more  valuable.  It  was  easier  land  to  till,  and  was  in  a 
better  state  of  cultivaticm.  The  Bourman  farm,  not  so  val- 
uable as  the  Bursley  farm,  sold  in  1662  for  £78.  There  is 
apparently  a  wide  difl"erence  in  these  prices  of  property  of 
the  same  description,  in  the  same  neighborhood  at  about  the 
same  time.  But  it  must  be  remembered  that  the  value  of 
.landed  estate  depended  then  very  much  on  the  value  of  the 
improvements  thereon,  and  on  the  kind  of  pay  for  which  the 
property  was  sold.  The  usual  consideration  being  provis- 
ions at  "prices  current  with  the  merchants."  Very  few 
contracts  were  made  payable  in  silver  money. 

The  names  of  the    children  of  the  first  John  Bursley 
are  not  entered  on  the  town  or  probate  records.     At  the 


GENEALOGICAL    NOTES    OF    BARNSTABLE    FAMILIES.        133 

time  of  his  marriage,  Nov.  28,  1639,  he  waw  probably  forty 
years  of  age,  and  the  bride.  Miss  Joanna  Hull,  a  blushing 
maid  not  out  of  her  teens.  Their  children,  as  entered  on 
the  church  records,  are  as  follows  : 

I.  A  child — name  not  recorded — died  suddenly  in  the 
night,  and  was  buried  Jan'y  25,  1640-1,  at  the  lower 
side  of  the  Calves  Pasture. 

II.  Mary,  bap'd  July  29,  1643,  married  April  25,  1663, 
John  Crocker.  She  was  his  second  wife,  and  was  the 
mother  often  children. 

III.  John,  bap'd  Sept.  22,  1644,  buried  Sept.  27,  1644. 

IV.  Joanna,  bap'd  March  1,  1645-6,  married  Dea.  Shubael 
Dimmock,  April,  1662  ;  had  a  family  of  nine  children 
born  in  Barnstable.  She  died  in  Mansiield,  Conn., 
May  8,  1727,  aged  83  years. 

V.  Elizabeth,  bap'd  March  25,  1649,  married,  first, 
Nathaniel  Goodspeed,  Nov.  1666,  by  whom  she  had  a 
daughter  Mary,  who  married  Ensign  John  Hinckley. 
She  married,  second.  Increase  Clap,  Oct.  1675,  and 
by  him  had  four  children  born  in  Barnstable. 

VI.  John,  bap'd  April  11,  1652,  married,  first,  Elizabeth 
Howland,  Dec.  1673,  and  second,  Elizabeth . 

VII.  Temperance,  who  married  Joseph  Crocker,  Dec.  1677, 
and  had  seven  children  born  in  Barnstable,  and  was 
living  in  1741. 

Mr.  John  Bursley  died  in  1660,  and  his  widow  married 
Dolar  Davis,  who  died  in  1673.  The  widow  Joanna  Davis 
was  living  in  1686.  The  date  of  her  death  I  am  unable  to 
ascertain . 

John  Bursley,  2d,  only  son  of  John,  was  eight  years  of 
age  when  his  father  died.  He  inherited  the  mansion  house 
taken  down  in  1827,  and  two-sixths  of  his  father's  estate. 
The  right  of  his  sisters  it  appears  that  he  bought,  for  at  his 
death  in  1726,  he  owned  all  the  lands  that  were  his  father's. 
He  married  twice ;  first,  Elizabeth,  daughter  of  Lieutenant 
John  Howland,  Dec.  1673,  who  was  the  mother  of  his  ten 
children.  His  second  wife  was  also  named  Elizabeth ;  but 
her  maiden  name  does  not  appear  on  recoi'd. 

He  was  a  farmer,  industrious  and  enterprising,  and  died 
leaving  a  large  estate.  The  old  mansion  house  he  bequeathed 
to  his  son  Joseph. 


134         GENEALOGICAL    NOTES    OF    BARNSTABLE    FAMILIES. 

Children  of  John  Bursley,  2d,  born  in  Barnstable  : 

I.  Elizabeth,  born  Oct.  1674;  died  Oct.  1675. 

II.  Mercy,  born  Oct.  1675  ;  died  April  1676. 

III.  John,  born  March,  1677-8.  He  married  Mary  Crocker, 
daughter  of  John,  and  was  living  in  the  year  1741, 
Feb.  11,  1702,  and  had  three  children.  Two  died  in 
infancy,  and  the  other.  Experience,  married  Benjamin 
Lothrop.  He  inherited  the  southwesterly  part  of  the 
old  farm  on  which  he  resided.  He  was  captain  of  a 
vessel  employed  in  the  whale  fishery,  and  died  in 
Barnstable,  1748. 

IV.  Mary,  born,  23d  May,  1679,  married  Joseph  Smith, 
after  the  year  1722. 

V.  Jabez,  born  21st  Aug.  1681.  His  father  in  his  will 
gave  him  the  northwest  quarter  of  his  farm,  since 
known  as  Doctor  Whitman's  farm,  and  now  owned  by 

Frederick  Parker,  Esq.     He  married  Hannah , 

1705,  and  had  Benjamin,  21st  July,  1706,  married 
Joanna  Cannons,  July  7,  1735  ;  second,  Mary  Good- 
speed,  Feb.  2,  1744,  and  had  Jabez,  26th  July,  1745; 
Martha,  25th  Aug.  1740;  Elizabeth,  23d  Dec.  1744; 
Sarah,  3d  Feb.  1748  ;  Benjamin,  27th  March,  1752, 
and  Lemuel,  17th  June,  1755  ;  John,  born  1st  Sept. 
1708,  married  Eliz.  Saunders,  1743 ;  Elizabeth,  born 
1st  Feb.  1710-11;  Abigail,  25th  Feb.  1714,  married 
Benoni  Crocker,  Feb.  19,  1736;  Hannah,  Nov.  1715, 
married  Solomon  Bodfish,  Dec.  17,  1741 ;  Joanna  born 
June,  1719,  married  Charles  Connett,  1733;  Mary, 
Aug.  1723,  and  Barnabas,  16th  Jan'y  1725,  married 
Thankful  Smith,  May  16,  1754,  and  had  Hannah,  Fel). 
3,  1756 ;  Thankful,  March  29,  1759,  and  Barnabas, 
April  24,  1761.  Jabez  Bursley  died  in  1732,  and 
names  in  his  will  all  his  eight  children.  Estate, 
£1.281.12.6. 

VI.  Joanna,  born  29th  Nov.  1684,  married  March,  1708-9, 
Nathan  Crocker  of  Barnstable. 

VII.  Joseph,  born  29th  Jan'y  1686-7,  married  Sarah 
Crocker,  Nov.  7,  1712,  and  had  Joseph,  who  married 
Dec.  20,  1739,  Bethia  Fuller,  and  had  John,  Nov.  1, 
1741,  grandfather  of  the  present  Mr.  Charles  H. 
Bursley;  Bethia,  born  March  2,  1743:  Lemuel, 
March  2,    1745,   father  of   the    present    Mr.   Joseph 


GENEALOGICAL    NOTES    OF    BARNSTABLE    EAMILIES.         135 

Bursley  of  Barnstable ;  Sarah,  born  Oct.  24,  1748  ; 
Abigail,  Oct.  23,  1750,  and  Joseph,  27th  March, 
1757. 

Joseph  Bursley,  Sen'r.,  also  had  Lemuel,  §th  Sept. 
1718,  and  Mercy,  10th  July,  1721,  married  May  22, 
1757,  John  Goodspeed. 

VIII.  Abigail,  born    27th  Aug.  1690,  married  Nath'l  Bod- 
fish,  March  10,  1713. 

IX.  Elizabeth,  born    5th    Aug.  1692,  married  Nov.    28, 
1723,  Jon.  Crocker. 

X.  Temperance,  born  3d  Jan'y  1695.     She  was  of  feeble 
health,  and  died  unmarried  Sept.  20,  1734. 

John  Bursley,  2d,  bequeathed  to  his  son  Joseph  the 
ancient  house  then  appraised,  with  the  house  lot,  at  £240, 
and  all  the  easterly  half  of  the  estate.  John  Bursley,  2d, 
owned  at  his  death  in  1726,  the  same  real  estate  that;his 
father  did  in  1660,  with  the  addition  of  shares  in  the  com- 
mons, to  which  his  father  was  also  entitled.  The  estate  was 
appraised  at  £115.5  in  1660,  and  in  1727,  £3.l37.13'.lO. 
Presuming  that  each  had  the  same  proportional  amount  of 
personal  estate,  these  appraisals  shovv  a  rapid  appreciation 
of  value  during  the  68  years.  After  allowing  for  the  depre- 
ciation of  the  currency,  £115.5  in  1660,  if  the  appraisal  was 
in  sterling  money,  would  be  about  520  ounces  of  silver,  and 
if  in  lawful  money  384  ounces.  In  1727,  an  ounce  of  silver 
was  worth  17  shillings,  and  £3.137.13.10,  was  equal  to 
3.486  ounces  of  silver. 


BERRY. 


RICHARD    BERRY. 

In  the  list  of  those  who  were  able  to  bear  arms  in 
Barnstable,  in  1643,  is  the  name  of  Eichard  Berry.  It  is 
not  slanderous  to  say  the  son  is  a  better  man  than  the  father, 
or  that  the  daughter  is  a  better  woman  than  the  mother. 
This  remark  applies  to  Eichard  Berry  and  his  wife  Alice. 
They  did  not  sustain  good  characters,  but  their  children 
followed  not  in  their  footsteps.  He  did  not  reside  long  in 
Barnstable.  He  probably  removed  to  Boston  in  1647,  and 
thence  to  Yarmouth  where  his  large  family  of  children  were 
born. 

Oct.  29,  1649,  Berry  accused  Teague  Jones  of  Yar- 
mouth, of  the  crime  of  sodomy,  and  Jones  was  put  under 
heavy  bonds  for  his  appearance  at  the  March  term  of  the 
Court  to  answer.  At  that  Court  Berry  confessed  that  he 
had  borne  false  witness  against  Jones,  and  for  his  perjury 
was  whipped  at  the  post  in  Plymouth. 

His  wife  Alice  was  a  thievish  woman,  and  husband  and 
wife  were  well  matched.  May  3,  1653,  she  was  presented 
for  stealing  a  neckcloth  from  the  wife  of  William  Pierce  of 
Yarmouth ;  at  the  June  Court  for  stealing  bacon  and  eggs 
from  Mr.  Samuel  Arnold;  at  the  March  Court,  1654-5,  for 
stealing  from  the  house  of  Benjamin  Hammond  a  woman's 
shift  and  a  piece  of  pork,  and  at  the  following  Court  in 


GENEALOGICAL    NOTES    OF    BARNSTABLE    FAMILIES.         137 

June  for  thievishly  milking  the  cow  of  Thomas  Phelps*  of 
Yarmouth.  For  the  latter  olfence  she  was  fined  ten  shillings, 
"or,  refusing  to  pay,  then  to  sit  in  the  stocks  at  Yarmouth 
an  hour  the  next  training  day."  This  is  a  sufficient  specimen 
of  her  character,  and  it  is  unnecessary  to  trace  it  farther. 

It  would,  however,  be  unjust  to  the  wife  to  say  nothing 
more  respecting  the  husband.  Richard,  notwithstanding  his 
humiliating  confession  that  he  had  sworn  falsely,  and  his 
visit  to  the  whipping-post,  continued  to  live  on  excellent 
terms  with  his  friend  Teague  at  Doctor's  Weir,  near  the 
mouth  of  Bass  Eiver.  The  Court,  however,  thought  differ- 
entl3\  and  caused  them  "to  part  their  uncivil  living  togeth- 
er." In  March,  1663,  he  was  fined  forty  shillings  for  playing 
cards ;  but  at  the  March  Court  following,  the  fine  was  re- 
mitted. In  1668,  Zachary  Rider,  the  first  born  of  the 
English  in  Yarmouth,  complained  that  Berry  had  stolen  his 
axe,  and  the  matter  was  referred  "to  Mr.  Hinckley  and  Mr. 
Bacon  to  end  it  at  home."  Richard,  notwithstanding  his 
vicious  propensities,  went  to  meeting  on  the  Sabbath  days 
carrying  with  him  his  pipe  and  tinder-horn.  One  Sabbath, 
during  "the  time  of  exercise,"  he  and  others,  instead  of 
listening  to  tfee  exhortations  of  the  preacher,  seated  them- 
selves "at  the  end  of  Yarmouth  Meeting  House,"  and 
indulged  in  smoking  tobacco.  For  this  ofi"ence  he  and  his 
companions  were  each  mulcted  in  a  fine  of  five  shillings,  at 
the  March  Court  in  1669. 

Richard  Berry  died  Sept.  7,  1681,  having  at  the  time 
of  his  death  a  house  therein ,  though  he  had  in  early  times 
been  forbidden  to  erect  a  cottage  in  Yarmouth.  In  his  old 
age  he  lived  a  better  life,  was  admitted  a  townsman  of  Yar- 
mouth, and  his  wife  became  respectable.  They  were  very 
poor,  and  having  a  large  family,  it  was  very  difficult  for  them 
to  provide  the  necessaries  of  life.  They  thought  it  less 
criminal  to  steal  than  to  starve.     Necessity  may  palliate  dis- 


*This  name  should  perhaps  be  Thomas  Philips,  who  was  an  early 
settler  in  Yarmouth.  He  is  not  named  by  Mr.  Savage,  and  I  have  been 
unable  to  find  much  respecting  him.  His  wife's  name  was  Agnesse  or 
Annis.  In  1665,  he  was  find  ten  shillings  for  lying.  A  woman  supposed 
to  be  his  daughter,  was  found  dead  in  the  wreck  of  a  boat  at  Duxburj', 
Dec.  6,  1673.  He  died  in  1674,  leaving  an  estate  appraised  at  £61.0.3.  a 
widow  and  eight  children  then  surviving.  In  1678,  Hugh  Stewart,  the 
administrator,  had  liberty  to  sell  the  house  and  land  belonging  to  the 
estate  of  Thomas  Philips,  deceased,  and  it  wovild  appear  from  the  mode 
of  expression  employed,  that  the  family  had  then  removed. 


138        GENEALOGICAL    NOTES    OF    BARNSTABLE    FAMILIES. 

honest  acts,  but  it  cannot  justify.  Anotlier  consideration 
may  be  named ;  as  soon  as  their  children  were  able  to  con- 
tribute something  by  their  labors  for  the  support  of  the 
family,  no  more  is  heard  of  the  thievish  prope-isities  of  hus- 
band or  wife. 

He  had  eleven  children  born  in  Yarmouth,  but  the 
record  is  imperfect,  most  of  the  names  being  torn  off  and 
lost.  The  dates  remain.  John,  born  29th  March,  1652': 
one,  11th  July,  1654 ;  Elizabeth,  5th  March,  1656 ;  one, 
12th  May,  1659;  one,  23d  Aug.  1662;  one,  IBth  Oct. 
1663  ;  one,  5th  Oct.  1668  ;  one,  1st  June,  1670  ;  one,  31st 
Oct.  1673,  one,  12th  Dec.  1677,  and  one  other.  It  is  prob- 
able that  five  of  the  above  died  before  July,  1676.  I  judge 
so  from  a  mutilated  record  under  the  entry  of  the  births. 
He  certainly  had  sons  John,  Richard,  Samuel,  Nathaniel, 
who  died  Feb.  7,  1793-4,  and  Joseph,  who  died  in  1686, 
and  a  daughter  Elizabeth,  who  married  Josiah  Jones,  28th 
Nov.  1677. 

John  Berry  was  a  resident  of  Yarmouth ;  he  was  a 
soldier  in  King  Philip's  war,  and  died  in  1745,  aged  93. 
In  his  will  he  names  his  children  Judah,  Ebenezer, 
Elizabeth,    who    married    Samuel   Baker,    July    30,    1702 ; 

Experience,   who   married  Bangs,   and   Mary,    who 

married  Isaac  Chase,  July  23,  1706. 

Samuel  Berry,  son  of  Kichard,  married  Elizabeth, 
daughter  of  John  Bell,  and  had  six  children  born  in  Yar- 
mouth, viz :  A  daughter,  born  Jan'y  19,  1682;  Elizabeth, 
Dec.  21,  1684;  Patience,  June  22,  1687;  John,  July  9, 
1689;  Samuel,  Nov.  1691,  and  Desire,  June  29,  1694. 
The  father  died  Feb.  21,  1703-4. 


Note. — A  friend  for  whose  opiuioii  I  iiave  a  high  respect,  reproves  me 
for  speaking  so  plainlj^  of  the  faults  of  those  whose  biography  I  write. 
In  the  common  intercourse  of  life,  [  admit  that  it  is  a  good  rule  to  saj- 
nothing,  when  you  cannot  speak  well  of  a  man.  Such  a  rule  does  not 
apply  to  the  writer  of  history.  Shall  all  that  is  said  in  the  Bible  respect- 
ing Judas  Iscariot  and  other  vile  persons  be  stricken  out?  Shall  the 
name  of  Nero  and  of  Benedict  Arnold  cease  to  appear  in  history?  Shall 
the  name  of  Judge  JeftVies  be  hereafter  chronicled  among  the  saints? — 
What  if  a  man's  blood  "has  crept  through  scoundrels  ever  since  the 
flood,"  is  he  to  blame?  Is  it  not  meritorious  in  him  to  have  controlled  a 
constitutional  predisposition  to  do  wrong?  I  know  prudes  will  condemn, 
and  the  very  discreet  object,  yet  their  objecting  or  condemning  does  not 
relieve  the  writer  of  history  from  telling  the  whole  truth. 


GENEALOGICAL    NOTES    OF    BAKNSTABLE    FAMILIES.         139 

From  these  two  sons  of  Richard,  John  and  Samuel, 
)joth  of  whom  sustained  good  characters  and  were  useful 
citizens,  the  numerous  families  of  the  name  of  Berry  on  the 
Cape  appear  to  descend.  As  it  is  not  a  Barnstable  name  I 
shall  not  trace  the  family  farther.  Among  the  descendants 
of  Richard,  are  many  active  and  successful  business  men, 
and  shipmasters,  and  they  probably  would  not  have  suc- 
ceeded any  better  in  the  world  if  their  ancestor  had  been 
one  of  the  most  pious  and  distinguished  among  the  Pilgrim 
fathers. 


BOURNE. 


HENRY    BOURNE. 

Jan'y  25th,  1634-5,  Henry  Bourne  joined  the  chnrch  of 
Mr.  Lothrop  at  Scituate.  The  suppositions  of  Rev.  Mr. 
Deane,  respecting  his  family  and  relatives,  appear  to  he 
mistakes.  He  says,  Eichard  of  Sandwich,  was  his  hrother ; 
l)ut  1  find  no  evidence  that  he  was  a  relative  of  the  pastor  of 
the  church  at  Marshpee.  He  supposes  John  of  Marshfield, 
to  be  his  son.  John  was  a  son  of  Thomas,  and  it  does  not 
appear  that  he  was  connected  with  Henry. 

He  settled  at  first  in  Scituate.  His  wife  Sarah  was 
dismissed  from  the  church  in  Hingham  to  that  of  Scituate, 
Nov.  11,  1638,  and  it  is  probable  that  he  was  married  al)out 
that  time.  He  bought  in  1637  or  8,  the  dwelling-house  of 
Richard  Foxwell,  the  eleventh  built  in  that  town. 

He  was  admitted  a  freeman  of  Plymouth  Colony,  Jan'y 
2,  1637-8  ;  on  the  grand  jury  in  1638,  '41,  '42,  '46,  '56,  "58 
and  '61 ;  deputy  to  the  Colony  Court  from  Barnstable  in 
1643  and  '44,  and  surveyor  of  highways  in  1655.  At  the 
March  Court,  1641,  he  was  a  witness  against  John  Bryant 
and  Daniel  Pryor  of  Barnstable,  on  a  complaint  for  "drink- 
ing tobacco  on  the  highway." 

He  removed  with  Mr.  Lothrop's  Church  to  Barnstable 
in  1639.  His  house  lot  was  the  second  west  from  Coggin's 
Pond,  now  called  Great  Pond.*     His  house  stood  on  the 


*  Coggin's  IJond  was  afterwards  called  Hinckley's  Pond,  now  Great 
Pond — a  very  indefinite  name.  Cooper's  or  Nine  Mile  Pond  is  also 
called  Great  Pond.  T  would  suggest  tiiat  the  old  name  be  revived.  No 
objection  can  be  urged  against  it ;  it  is  definite,  and  is  the  name  by  wliich 
it  was  known  by  our  ancestors. 


GENEALOGICAL    NOTES    OF    BARNSTABLE    FAMILIES.         141 

north  side  of  the  road.  The  ancient  house  linown  as 
"Brick  John  Hinckley's,"  taken  down  a  few  years  since, 
stood  near  the  location  of  Bourne's  house. 

Henry  Bourne  was  a  large  land  holder.  In  1654,  he 
owned  eight  acres  on  the  north  of  Coggin's  Pond,  bounded 
westerly  by  the  marsh,  northerly  by  the  Calves  Pasture  and 
easterly  by  the  land  of  Thomas  Hinckley ;  and  five  acres  of 
salt  meadow  adjoining  the  same.  His  house  lot  on  which 
he  built  his  hoxise  contained  eight  acres  of  upland,  with 
three  acres  of  marsh  adjoining ;  bounded  on  the  east  by  the 
land  of  the  heirs  of  Henry  Coggin,  southerly  by  the  com- 
mons, west  by  the  land  of  James  Hamblin,  and  north  by 
the  Main  Creek  or  Harbor.  The  house  lot  extended  across 
the  highway.  The  three  acres  was  called  "Bourne's  Hill," 
and  as  it  was  bounded  westerly  by  his  house  lot,  must  have 
been  the  hill  west  of  the  house  of  the  late  Robinson  Hinck- 
ley. He  also  owned  two  acres  in  the  Calves  pasture 
adjoining  his  lot  at  Coggin's  Pond,  bounded  northeasterly 
by  the  highway,  called  Calves  Pasture  Lane ;  three  acres  on 
the  south  side  of  the  road,  near  the  present  railroad  crossing  ; 
ten  acres  of  upland  in  the  woods  on  the  west  of  Pine  Hill, 
and  six  acres  of  marsh  at  Scorton. 

In  May,  1659,  his  great  lot  was  assigned  to  him,  and  is 
thus  described  on  the  records  :  "Forty  acres  of  upland  more 
or  less,  bounded  northerly  by  ye  lands  of  Henry  Coggin's 
heirs ;  southerly  by  Dolar  Davis,  butting  easterly  by  ye 
Indian  Pond,  westerly  by  ye  commons,  with  an  acre  of 
marsh  more  or  less  adjoyning  to  it." 

"One  acre  of  upland  at  Scorton,  bounded  southerly  by 
his  own  marsh,  westerly  by  John  Chipman,  easterly  by 
John  Coggin's  upland." 

I  do  not  find  the  record  of  the  death  of  Henry  Bourne, 
or  his  will.  He  was  living  in  1661,  but  at  the  time  of  the 
settlement  of  Mr.  Jonathan  Eussell  in  Sept.  1683,  he  had 
deceased.  An  entry  on  the  Church  records,  Jan'y  28, 
1684-5,  refers  to  him  as  "late  deceased."  I  am,  however, 
inclined  to  the  opinion  that  he  had  then  been  dead  several 
years.  His  widow  Sarah  was  living  in  Sept.  1683  ;  but 
died  soon  after  that  date. 

Henry  Bourne  had  a  still-born  daughter  born  7th  May, 
1641,  and  a  daughter  Dorcas,  bap'd  26th  Aug.  1649,  but 
the  latter  does  not  appear  to  have  survived  long. 


142   GENEALOGICAL  NOTES  OP  BARNSTABLE  FAMILIES. 

It  seems  by  an  entry  in  the  Church  records,  that  he 
made  a  will,  and  gave  a  legacy  to  the  Barnstable  Church. 
£6.13.  was  paid  to  Mrs.  Bourne  before  her  death,  and 
the  balance,  which  was  to  be  paid  by  Thos.  Huckins,  Jr., 
and  John  Phinney,  was  remitted  to  Thomas  Huckins, 
excepting  £5,  which  was  paid  to  the  deacons  of  the  church. 


BENJAMIN, 


JOSEPH   BENJAMIN. 

Joseph  Benjamin,  son  of  John,  of  Watertown,  married 
10th  June,  1661,  Jemimah,  daughter  of  Thomas  Lumbert 
of  Barnstable.  He  settled  in  Yarmouth  before  1670,  on  a 
farm  near  the  meadows,  on  the  north  of  the  Miller  farm. — 
He  owned  an  estate  in  Cambridge,  which  he  sold  30th  Oct. 
1686.  In  1680,  he  exchanged  his  farm  in  Yarmouth  for 
that  of  Joseph  Gorham  in  Barnstable,  now  owned  by  Naihan 
Edson.  He  removed  to  New  London,  Conn.,  where  he  died 
in  1704,  leaving  a  widow,  Sarah,  and  seven  children.  The 
births  of  his  children  were  recorded  in  Yarmouth,  but  the 
record  is  torn  and  imperfect.  He  had  Abigail ;  Joseph, 
1666;  Hannah,  Feb.  1668,  not  living  in  1704;  Mary,  born 
April,  1670,  married  John  Clark,  16th  Nov.  1697,  who  was 
a  schoolmaster;  Mercy,  born  March  12th,  1674;  Elizabeth, 
born  Jan'y  14th,  1679-80,  not  living  in  1704;  John,  born 
1682,  and  Jemimah,  Sarah  and  Kezia  named  in  the  settle- 
ment of  his  estate. 

"The  admirable,  accurate  and  precise,"  record  of  the 
sattlement  of  his  estate,  dated  in  1704,  says  his  son  Joseph 
was  aged  30 ;  John,  22 ;  and  Abigail,  Jemima,  Sarah, 
Kezia,  Mary  and  Mercy  were  all  aged  tv)enty  years.  Six  at 
one  birth  if  the  New  London  record  is  deserving  of  credit. 


BUTLER. 


ISRAEL    BUTLER. 

Eespecting  the  ancestors  of  Israel  Butler,  I  have  no 
information.  He  married  July  1,  1725,  Elizabeth,  daughter 
of  Thomas  Blossom  ;  she  died  Jan'y  7,  1734-5,  aged  29,  and 
he  married  for  his  second  wife,  Oct.  29,  1735,  Mary,  daugh- 
ter of  Daniel  Parker,  Bsq.  She  died  in  1745,  aged  35. — 
Children  of  Israel  Butler  born  in  Barnstable. 

Children  born  in  Barnstable. 

I.  Nathaniel,  born  April  11,  1726,  9  o'clock,  P.  M. 

II.  Benjamin,  Dec.  18,  1727,  sunset. 

III.  Elizabeth,  June  6,  1720,  12  at  noon. 

IV.  Sarah,  Oct.  31,  1732,  P.  M. 

V.  James,  Dec.  15,  1736,  6  at  night. 

VI.  Hannah,  May  11,  1738. 

VII.  Mary,  Sept.  26,  1739. 

VIII.  Daniel,  Feb.  23,  1740-1. 

This  was  a  Sandwich  and  Falmouth  name.  There  was 
a  family  of  the  name  in  Harwich.  It  is  said  that  General 
Butler  is  a  descendant  of  the  Cape  family. 


BATES. 


JOHN     BATES. 

There  was  a  John  Bates  in  Barnstable  in  1666  ;  perhaps 
only  a  temporary  resident.  He  had  a  fight  with  William 
Borden,  the  latter  being  drunk  at  the  time,  came  off  second 
best.  Bates  was  condemned  to  pay  Borden  twenty  shillings 
for  abuse,  and  three  shillings  and  four  pence  to  the  Court 
for  breach  of  the  peace.  Borden  was  fined  five  shillings  for 
being  drunk,  and  three  shillings  and  four  pence  for  the 
breach  of  the  peace. 

The  present  family  in  Barnstable  are  descendants  of 
another  John  Bates,  who,  by  his  wife  Abigail,  had  eight 
children  born  in  Barnstable,  viz.  :  Susannah,  born  July  15, 
1739 ;  Samuel,  March  7,  1741-2 — died  twenty-one  days 
after;  John,  Jan'y  10,  1742-3;  Job,  Feb.  3,  1745-6; 
Mehitable,  Feb.  19,  1748-9  ;  Thomas,  March  17,  1750-1 ; 
Samuel,  Sept.  27,  1754,  and  Seth,  March  7;  1758-9. 


BRYANT. 


JOHN    BEYANT. 

John  Bryant,  house  carpenter,  was  of  Barnstable  in 
1640.  He  married  in  1648,  Mary,  daughter  of  George 
Lewis,  for  his  first  wife.  He  returned  to  Scituate  and  was 
an  active  and  useful  man,  much  employed  in  the  division  of 
lands,  and  other  public  business.  In  1657,  he  married  his 
second  wife,  Elizabeth,  daughter  of  Eev.  William  Witherell, 
and  in  1664,  Mary,  daughter  of  Thomas  Hiland.  By  his 
first  wife  he  had  seven,  and  by  his  third,  ten  children. 


CARSELY. 


Two  of  this  name  were  of  the  first  settlers.  William, 
admitted  a  freeman  of  the  Massachusetts  Colony,  Nov.  2, 
1637,  and  of  new  Plymouth,  Dec.  3,  1639.  He  came  from 
Scituate  to  Barnstable.  He  was  the  first  constable,  having 
been  appointed  June  4,  1639,  O.  S.,  the  day  the  town  was 
incorporated.  He  married  Nov.  28,  1639,  at  Sandwich,  a 
sister  of  the  Rev.  Marmaduke  Matthews  of  Yarmouth.  It 
does  not  appear  by  the  record  that  he  had  any  family.  A 
still-born  child  of  his  was  buried  May  7,  1641. 

His  house  lot,  containing  six  acres  of  upland  more  or 
less,  was  bounded  easterly  by  Mr.  Linnell's,  westerly  by 
Tristram  Hull's,  southerly  by  the  highway,  and  northerly  by 
the  marsh.  He  had  one  acre  of  meadow  at  the  north  end, 
butting  northeasterly  on  the  harbor.  He  sold  a  part  of  his 
house  lot  to  Hon.  Barnabas  Lothrop  about  the  year  1658. 

William  Casely  was  a  man  who  had  received  a  good 
education, — had  some  knowledge  of  Latin,  had  perhaps 
studied  law,  and  was  employed  by  the  first  settlers  to  draw 
legal  instruments.  He  was  a  member  of  Mr.  Lothrop's 
Church,  but  the  date  of  his  admission  does  not  appear. 
Thus  far  he  has  a  clean  record.  He  was  a  vain,  self-con- 
ceited, vulgar  fellow.  Common  decency  forbids  stating 
particulars.  He  was  excommunicated  from  the  Church, 
Sept.  5,  1641,  and  among  other  reasons  which  I  omit,  he  is 
charged  with  being  "much  given  to  Idleness,  and  too  much 
to  jearing" — "observed  alsoe  by  some  to  bee  somewhat 
proud."  The  sentence  of  excommunication  was  pronounced 
by  Rev.  Mr.  Mayo.  The  record  adds  :  "William  Carsely 
took  it  patiently.'' 


148        GENEALOGICAL    NOTES    OF    BARNSTABLE    FAMILIES. 

John  Carsely  was  also  one  of  the  first  settlers,  and  it  has 
been  supposed  that  he  was  a  brother  of  William.  I  find  no 
evidence  that  such  was  the  fact.  He  came  from  Scituate. 
He  was  unlearned,  not  a  church  member,  and  his  record  is 
not  creditable  to  him.  March  1,  1661-2,  he  and  his  wife 
Alice  were  presented  "for  fornication  in  unlawfully  com- 
panying  before  their  marriage."  John  was  condemned  to 
be  whipped,  and  Alice  to  set  in  the  stocks  while  the  punish- 
ment was  inflicted ;  all  of  which  was  duly  performed  June 
7,  1642.  He  was  fined  three  shillings  and  four  pence, 
March  6,  1665-6,  for  a  breach  of  the  public  peace. 

His  house  lot  contained  four  acres.  The  southwest 
corner  of  his  lot  was  near  "the  prison,"  there  being  a  nar- 
row strip  of  common  land  between  it  and  the  road  now 
known  as  Jail  Lane.  The  northwest  corner  of  Carsely's  lot 
was  at  the  southwest  corner  of  Mr.  John  Lothrop's  orchard 
in  1703.  On  the  north  it  was  bounded  partly  by  the  hill 
"against  the  highway,"  and  partly  by  the  swamp,  the  north- 
east corner  stake  standing  south  of  James  Paine's  shop.  On 
the  east  it  was  bounded  partly  by  Mr.  Linnell's  land  litid 
partly  by  Richard  Child's  land,  the  eastern  boundary  being 
in  1708  in  the  range  of  Wid.  Abigail  Sturgis'  barn.  On  the 
south  it  was  bounded  by  common  land,  afterwards 
granted  partly  to  Mr.  Linnell,  and  three-fourths  of  an  acre 
near  the  Jail  to  John  Otis.  In  1661,  four  acres  in  addition 
were  granted  to  him,  bounded  north  by  Mr.  Linnell,  east 
by   Joseph    Lothrop,*   south   and  west    by  the    commons. 


*  It  it  erroneously  stated  in  the  account  of  the  lots  purchased  by  Mr. 
Thomas  AUyn,  that  Capt.  Samuel  Hayo  bought  the  lot  between  Bev.  Mr. 
Mayo's  and  Tristram  Hull's  lot,  of  .John  Casely.  When  I  wrote  that  article, 
I  had  not  read  the  proprietor's  records.  The  descriptions  are  very  indefi- 
nite, but  a  comparison  of  the  records  of  lots  in  the  vicinity  of  John 
Casely's  house  lot  has  been  made,  and  the  description  above  given  I 
think  is  reliable.  This  tract  of  land  containing  eight  acres  was  above 
the  "poly  pod  swamp,"  and  extended  forty  rods  east  and  west  and 
thirty-two  rods  north  and  south,  and  was  bounded  west  by  John  Casely, 
and  east  by  James  Naybor's  land.  The  latter  was  bounded  east  by  tlie 
highway, — probably  the  road  into  the  woods  east  of  the  old  Sturgis  tav- 
ern. It  would  seem  from  this  investigation  that  the  ancient  road  fol- 
lowed the  present  road  from  the  Jail  to  Capt.  Wilson's  house,  then  turn- 
ing to  the  south  to  the  head  of  Capt.  Joseph  Lothrop's  land,  then  followed 
the  south  edge  of  the  swamp  and  joined  the  present  road,  near  the  house 
of  the  late  Capt.  .Joshua  Loriiig.  This  view  of  the  matter  makes  the  rec- 
ord of  the  laying  out  of  the  road  in  1686  intelligible.  On  reaching  Capt. 
Lothrop's  land,  instead  of  turning  to  the  southeast  they  turned  to  the 
north,  through  his  land  over  a  private  causeway  across  the  swamp  which 
was  narrow  at  that  place. 


GENEALOGICAL    NOTES    OF    BARNSTABLE    FAMILIES.         149 

Twenty  acres  were  also  granted  to  him  on  the  west  of  the 
land  of  James  Chighorn,  whioh  he  sold  20th  April,  1675,  to 
Joshua  Lumbert  for  £7. 

He  married  twice  ;  first,  in  1642,  to  Alice  — ' ,  and 

second,  Sarah .     He   died  in   1693,  and  his   widow 

married  Samuel  Norman.  There  is  no  record  of  his  family. 
In  the  settlement  of  his  estate  on  the  probate  records,  his 
children  John,  Benjamin,  Sarah,  who  married  Elisha  Smith, 
April  20,  1719,  are  named;  John,  Jr.,  removed  to  Yar- 
mouth where  he  died  Jan'y  13,  1705-6. 

Benjamin  Casely  married  March  4,  1713-14,  Mary 
Godfrey  of  Yarmouth. 

John  Casely  married  May  17,  1739,  Dorcas  Hamblin, 
and  had  children  born  in  Barnstable,  namely  : 

Children  born  in  Barnstable. 

I.  John,  born  Feb.  14,  1740. 

H.  Ebenezer,  born  Aug.  12,  1744. 

HI.  Mary,  born  May  23,  1749. 

IV.  Seth,  born  Feb.  21,  1751. 

V.  Isaac,  born  July  10,  1753. 

VI.  Dorcas,  born  July  8,  1755. 

VII.  Eunice,  born  Sept.  19,  1759. 

Benjamin  Casely,  Jr.,  married  Nov.  29,  1739,  Huldah 
Hinckley,  and  had  children,  namely  : 

I.  Ambrose,  June  19,  1741. 

II.  Benjamin,  March  9,  1743. 

III.  Thomas,  Feb.  14,  1745  ;  lost  with  Capt.  Magee,  Dec. 
27,  1778. 

IV.  Lemuel,  Nov.  17,  1747. 

V.  Samuel,  Dec.  3,  1749. 

VI.  Haanah,  Dec.  2,  1750. 

VII.  Mehitabel,  Jan'y  8,  1758. 

VIII.  David,  March  15. 

Lemuel,  son  of  Benjamin,  Jr.,  had  a  family,  the  last  of 
the  name  in  Barnstable. 

It  is  a  fact  worthy  of  note  that  of  the  forty-five  first 
comers  to  Barnstable,  who  were  heads  of  families,  proprie- 
tors, and  regularly  admitted  townsmen,  prior  to  January  5, 
1643-4,  there  were  only  four  who  did  not  sustain  good  moral 
characters,  and  whose  lives  were  not  in  accordance  with  the 
religion  which  they  professed.  These  four  were  John  Crocker, 


150        GENEALOGICAL    NOTES    OF    BARNSTABLE    FAMILIES. 

William  and  John  Casely,  and  Thomas  Shaw,  neither  of 
whom  have  any  male  descendants  in  the  town  or  county  of 
Barnstable.  John  Crocker's  crime  was  committed  before  he 
came  to  Barnstable,  and  strictly  cannot  be  charged  as  the 
act  of  a  Barnstable  man.  The  charges  against  William 
Casely  were  not  criminal,  and  did  not  subject  him  to  any 
legal  punishment.  Though  educated,  he  was  a  vulgar  man, 
and  though  a  professor  of  religion,  he  did  not  live  a  Chris- 
tian life.  He  was  weak-minded,  vain,  frivolous,  and  com- 
mitted acts  that  gentlemen  are  ashamed  to  have  laid  to  their 
charge.  The  sentence  of  ex-communication  pronounced 
against  him  was  a  righteous  one ;  and  though  he  continued 
to  reside  in  Barnstable,  he  sunk  into  merited  ignominy. — 
The  crime  for  which  John  Casely  was  punished  is  not  stated, 
and  as  the  laws  are  now  administered  he  would  not  be  held 
liable  in  the  manner  he  was  two  centuries  ago. 

The  complaint  against  Thomas  Shaw  was  that  he  went 
into  the  house  of  his  neighbor,  John  Crocker,  on  the  Sab- 
bath, and  helped  himself  to  something  to  eat.  It  was  not  a 
justifiable  act,  neither  was  it  very  criminal.  (See  Matthew, 
Chap,  xii :  1  to  6.) 

In  these  three  short  paragraphs  I  have  given  an  abstract 
of  the  criminal  calender  of  a  generation  of  men,  the  first  set- 
tlers, the  ancestors  of  nineteen-twentieths  of  the  present 
inhabitants  of  Barnstable.  If  a  parallel  can  be  found  in  the 
annals  of  any  of  our  towns,  I  am  not  aware  of  it. 


CHAPMAN. 


ISAAC    CHAPMAN. 

Ralph  Chapman  came  in  the  Elizabeth  from  London  in 
1635.  His  age  is  stated  in  the  Custom  House  return  to  be 
20.  He  was  a  ship  carpenter  of  Southwalk,  in  Surry,  near 
London.  He  settled  first  in  Duxbury,  and  there  married 
23d  Nov.  1642,  Lydia  Wells,  a  daughter  of  Isaac,  after- 
wards of  Barnstable.*  His  children  were  Mary,  born  31st 
Oct.  1643 ;  Sarah,  15th  May,  1645  :  Isaac,  Aug.  4,  1647  ; 
Lydia,  born  and  died  26th  Nov.  1649  ;  Ealph,  20th  June, 
1653,  died  next  month,  and  Ralph  again.  His  daughter 
Mary  married  14th  May,  1666,  William  Troop  of  Barnsta- 
ble, and  Sarah  married  William  Norcut  of  Yarmouth,  after- 
wards of  Eastham.  His  son  Ralph  of  Marshfield,  had  a  son 
John  reputed  to  be  104  years  of  age  at  his  death.  The 
elder  Ralph  died  at  Marshfield  in  1671,  aged  56. 

Isaac  Chapman,  son  of  Ralph,  settled  in  Barnstable. 
He  married  Sept.  2,  1678,  Rebecca,  daughter  of  James 
Leonard.  His  house  and  shop  stood  on  the  south  side  of 
the  County  road  on  the  lot  formerly  owned  by  Isaac  Wells, 
a  short  distance  west  of  the  Court  House.  Children  born  in 
Barnstable. 

(Jhildren  born  in  Barnstable. 

I.  Lydia,  15th  Dec.  1679. 

II.  John,  12th  May,  1638. 

III.  Hannah,  26th  Dec.  1682,  died  July  6,  1689. 


*  Mr.  Savage  says  Lydia  Wills  or  Willis.  I  read  the  record  Wells; 
but  cannot  at  this  moment  give  the  authority  for  saying  she  was  a 
daughter  of  Isaac  Wells  of  Barnstable.  Isaac  Chapman  and  John  Miller 
of  Yarmouth,  were  heirs  to  the  estate  of  Margaret,  widow  of  Isaac 
Wells.  It  may  be  that  Ralph  Chapman's  wife  was  not  a  daughter,  but 
it  is  jji-obable. 


152        GENEALOGICAL    NOTES    OF    BARNSTABLE    FAMILIES. 

IV.  James,  5th  August,   1685,  married   Aug.   14,  1723, 
Mehitabel  Sharp. 

V.  Abigail,  11th  July,  1687. 

VI.  Hannah,  10th  April,  1690. 

VII.  Isaac,  29th  Dec.  1692. 

VIII.  Ealph,  19th  Jan'y,  1695. 

IX.  Eebecca,  1st  June,  1697. 

Isaac  Chapman  removed  to  Yarmouth,  now  Dennis, 
with  his  family  where  he  has  descendants.  His  son  Isaac, 
by  his  wife  Elizabeth,  had  Isaac,  7th  April,  1711 ;  Mary, 
6th  June,  1713 ;  Rebecca,  14th  Nov.  1725,  died  Dec.  30, 
1726  ;  Samuel,  14th  Nov.  1727  ;  Eebecca,  25th  June,  1730  ; 
Ruth,  13th  April,  1733  ;  Micah,  18th  July,  1735. 

Ralph  Chapman,  son  of  Isaac,  by  his   wife  Elizabeth, 

had  John,  born  22d  ,  1728-9 ;  Betty,  15th   Oct.  1736, 

and  David,  15th  Nov.  1739. 


NOTB.^ — ^As  this"  is  not  a  Barnstable  family,  I  have  not  carefully  ex- 
amined the  Yarmouth  or  the  Probate  Records.  Persons  interested  can 
find  materials  for  a  full  geneaology  of  the  family. 


CHiPMAN. 


ELDER   JOHN   CHIPMAN. 

Elder  John  Cliipman  is  probably  the  ancestor  of  all  of  the 
name  of  Chip  man  in  the  United  States  and  British  Provinces.  The 
following  statement,  drawn  up  by  himself,  is  printed  from  an  an- 
cient copy  of  the  original  in  the  possession  of  the  family  of  the 
late  Mr.  Samuel  Chipman  of  Sandwich.  An  incorrect  copy  was 
published  in  the  Genealogical  Register  of  1860.  The  following 
has  been  carefully  collated  with  the  manuscript,  and  is  a  true  tran- 
script thereof,  excepting  four  words,  which  are  repetitions  and 
erased  in  the  manuscript.     Interlineations  are  prirlted  in  italics. 

A  Brief  Declaration  in  Behalf  of  Jno.  CMpinan  of  Barnstable. 

A  Brief  Declaration  with  humble  Request  (to  whom  these 
Presents  shall  come)  for  further  Inquiry  &  Advice  in  ye  behalf  of 
John  Chipman,  now  of  Barnstable  in  the  Government  of  New  Pli- 
mouth  in  New  England  In  America,  being  ye  only  Son  &  Heir  of 
Mr.  Thomas  Chipman  Late  Deceased  at  Brinspittell  1  about  five 
miles  from  Dorchester  in  Dorsetshire  in  England  concerning  some 
certain  Tenement  or  Tenements  with  a  Mill  &  other  Edifice  there- 
unto belonging  Lying  &  'being  in  Whitchurch  of  Marhwood  vale 
near  Burfort  alias  Breadport,  in  Dorsetshire  aforsd  hertofore 
worth  40  or  50  Pounds  pr  Annum  which  were  ye  Lands  of  ye  sd 
Thomas  Chipman  being  entailed  to  him  &  his  Heirs  for  Ever  but 
hath  for  Sundry  years  Detained  from  ye  sd  John  Chipman  the 
right  &  only  Proper  Heir  thereunto.  By  reason  of  Some  kinde  of 
Sale  made  of  Inconsiderable  value  by  the  sd  Thomas  (In  the  time 
of  his  Single  Estate  not  then  minding  marriage)  unto  his  kinsman 
Mr.  Christopher  Derbe  Living  Sometime  in  Sturtle  near  Burfort 
aforsd  being  as  the  Said  John  hath  been  Informed,  but  for  40  lb 
And  to  be  maintained  Like  a  man  with  Diet  Apparel  &c  by  the 
sd  Christopher  as  Long  as  the  sd  Thomas  Should  Live  whereat  ye 
Lawyer  wc.  made  the  Evidences  being  troubled  at  his  Weakness 
in  taking  Such  an  Inconsiderable  Price  tendered  him  to  Lend  him 
money  or  to  give  to  him  ye  sd  Thomas  Seven  Hundred  Pounds  for 
ye  sd  Lands.  But  yet  the  matter  Issuing  as  Aforsd  The  Vote  of 
the  Country  who.  had  It nowledge  of  it  was  that  the  sd  Thomas  had 


154       GENEALOGICAL    NOTES    OF    BAKNSTABLE    FAMILIES. 

much  wrong  in  it  Especially  After  it  pleased  God  to  change  his 
condition,  and  to  give  him  Children,  being  turned  off  by  the  sd 
Christopher  only  with  a  poor  Cottage  and  Garden  Spott  instead  of 
his  forsd  Maintainance  to  the  great  wrong  of  his  Children  Espec- 
ially of  his  Son  John  Aforsd  to  whom  ye  Sd  Lands  by  right  of  En- 
tailment did  belong  Insomuch  that  mr  William  Derbe  who  had  the 
sd  Lands  in  his  Possession  then  from  his  father  Christopher  Derbe 
told  the  sd  John  Chipman  (being  then  a  youth)  that  his  father 
Christopher  had  done  him  wrong,  but  if  ye  sd  Lands  prospered 
with  him  that  he  would  then  consider  the  sd  John  to  do  for  him  in 
way  of  recompence  for  the  Same  when  he  should  be  of  capacity  in 
years  to  make  use  thereof.  The  sd  John  fm-ther  declareth  that 
one  mr  Derbe  A  Lawyer  of  Dorchester  (he  supposes  ye  father  of 
that  mr  Derbe  now  Living  in  Dorchester)  being  a  friend  to  the 
mother  of  the  sd  John  told  her  being  Acquainted  with  ye  Business 
and  sorry  for'  the  Injury  to  her  Heir,  that  if  it  pleased  God  he 
Liv'd  to  be  of  Age  he  would  himself  upon  his  own  charge  make  a 
tryal  for  the  recovery  of  it,  and  in  case  he  recovere  it  Shee  Should 
give  him  10  lb  Else  he  would  have  nothing  for  his  trouble  and 
charge.  Furthermore  John  Derbe  late  deceased  of  Yarmouth  in 
New  Plimouth  -Government  Aforsd  hath  acknowledged  here  to 
the  sd  John  Chipman  that  his  father  Christopher  had  done  him 
much  wrong  in  the  forsd  Lands  but  ye  sd  John  Chipman  being  but 
in  a  poor  and  mean  outward  condition,  hath  hitherto  been  Afraid 
to  stir  in  it  as  thinking  he  should  never  get  it  from  ye  rich  and 
mighty,  but  being  now  Stirred  up  by  some  friends  as  Judging  it 
his  Duty  to  make  more  Effectual  Inquiry  after  it  for  his  own  com- 
fort his  wife  and  childrens  which  God  hath  been  pleased  to  bestow 
on  him  if  any  thing  may  be  done  therein,  &  in  what  way  it  may  be 
attained,  whether  without  his  coming  over  which  is  mostly  Desired 
if  it  may  bee.  Because  of  exposing  his  wife  &  children  to  Some 
Straits  in  his  Absence  from  them,  he  hath  therefore,  Desired  these 
as  aforsd  Desiring  also  Some  Search  may  be  made  for  farther 
Light  in  ye  case  into  the  Records  the  conveyance  of  the  Said 
Lands  being  made  as  he  Judgeth  about  threescore  years  Since  as 
Also  that  Enquiry  be  made  of  his  Sisters  which  he  supposeth 
lived  about  those  parts  &  of  whom  else  it  may  be  thought  meet, 
and  Advice  sent  over  as  Aforsd,  not  Else  at  present  But  hoping 
that  there  be  Some  Left  yet  in  England  alike  Spirited  with  him  in 
29  Job  whom  the  Ear  that  heareth  of  may  bless  God  for  Deliver- 
ing ye  poor  that  crieth  and  him  that  hath  no  helper  Bein  Eyes  to 
the  blind  feet  to  the  Lame  A  father  to  the  Poor  Searching  out  ye 
causfe  which  he  knoweth  not,  &c.  Barnstable  as  Aforsd  this  8th 
of  Feb.  (57.)  John  Chipman  Desires  his  Love  be  presented  to 
his  Sisters  Hannor  and  Tamson  and  to  hear  particularly  from  them 
if  Living  and  doth  further  request  that  Enquiry  be  made  of  mr 
Oliver  Lawrence  of  Arpittle  who  was  an  intimate  friend  of  his 


GENEALOGICAL    NOTES    OF    BARNSTABLE    FAMILIES.        155 

fathers.  He  desires  also  Enquiry  be  made  of  his  Sisters  what 
those  parchment  writeings  concerned  in  the  custody  of  his  mother 
when  he  was  there. 

The  sd  John  Chipman  Supposeth  his  age  to  be  About  thirty 
seven  years  ;  it  being  next  may  Twenty  &  one  year  Since  he  come 
out  of  England. 

On  the  2d  of  March,  1641-2,  Ann  Hinde,  the  wife  of  William 
Hoskins,  deposed  before  Gov.  Edward  Winslow,  relative  to  a 
matter  in  controversy  between  John  Derbey  and  John  Chipman. 
She  stated  that  she  was  then  about  25  years  of  age,  that  she  lived 
with  Mr.  Christopher  Derbey  at  the  time  when  John  Chipman 
came  to  New  England  to  serve  Mr.  Richard  Derbey  a  son  of 
Christopher,  and  a  brother  of  John,  that  she  afterwards  came  over 
to  serve  the  said  Richard,  and  that  when  she  left,  old  Mr.  Derbey 
requested  her  "to  commend  him  to  his  cozen  (nephew)  Chipman, 
and  tell  him  if  he  were  a  good  boy,  he  would  send  him  over  the 
money  that  was  due  to  him,  when  he  saw  good."  She  also  testi- 
fied that  she  had  heard  John  Derbey  affirm  that  the  money  had 
been  paid  to  John  Chipman's  mother,  who  died  about  three  months 
before  her  old  master  sent  this  message  by  her  to  his  nephew 
Chipman.  The  object  of  this  deposition  was  to  establish  the  fad 
that  John  Derbey  did  not  pay  the  money  to  Chipmans's  mother, 
because  she  died  three  months  before  Mr.  Christopher  Derbey 
made  the  promise  to  send  it. 

John  Chipman,  only  son  of  Mr.  Thomas  Chipman,  was  born 
in  or  near  Dorchester  in  Dorcetshire,  England,  about  the  year 


1.  Bi-inspittell  or  Brinspudel,  Dorsetshire,  is  between  Affpudel  and 
the  river  Piddle.  Dorsetshire,  from  the  mildness  of  the  air  and  the 
beauties  of  its  situation  has  been  termed  the  garden  of  England. 

2.  Whitchurch,  west  of  Bridport,  a  seaport  town,  is  one  of  the  largest 
parishes  in  the  county.  It  has  a  large  and  ancient  church  in  which  are 
some  antique  ornaments. 

3.  Marshwood,  with  its  vale  and  park,  four  miles  ST.  W.  of  Whit- 
church, was  formerly  a  barony  of  great  honor. 

4.  Burtport,  or  rather  Hritport,  called  also  Bridport  and  Britport, 
Dorsetshire.  A  seaport  borough  and  market  town  in  the  hundred  of 
Sturminster. 

0.    Sturhill,  Bridport  Division,  Godbertorne  Hundred,  Dorcetshire. 

6.    Athpuddel  in  Dorcetshire. 

All  the  places  named  are-inDorcet  County  or  shire  England,  as  stated 
in  an  article  in  the  Genealogical  Register  commnnteated  by  Rev.  Richard 
M.  Chipman.  In  the  same  article  Mr.  Chipman  presumes  that  "Hannor" 
and  "Tamson,"  the  sisters  of  Elder  John,  are  the  names  of  their  hus- 
bands. He  reads  the  name  of  Tamson,  Jamson ;  and  supposes  Thomp- 
son was  intended.  This  reading  probably  led  to  the  error.  Hannah 
and  Tamson  or  Thomasine,  are  common  names,  and  there  seems  to  be  no 
good  reason  to  doubt  that  they  were  the  Christian  names  of  his  sisters. 
The  Declaration  is  dated  Feb.  8,  1657,  O.  S.,  which  is  Feb.  18, 1658,  N.  S. ' 
Deduct  21  years,  and  it  gives  May,  1637,  as  the  date  of  his  leaving 
England.    The  date  of  his  birth  by  the  same  rule  is  1621. 


'156        GENEALOGICAL    NOTES    OF    BARNSTABLE    FAJIILIES. 

1621.  He  had  two  sisters  Hannah  and  Tamson,  -who  married  and 
remained  in  England.  His  father  died  early,  and  he  i-esided  with 
his  uncle,  Mr.  Christopher  Derbey.  In  May,  1637,  Mr.  Richard 
Derbey,  a  sou  of  Christopher,  came  to  New  England,  bringing 
with  him  his  cousin  John,  theu  sixteen  years  of  age,  and  others, 
in  tlie  capacity  of  servants.  It  was  then  customary  to  send  over 
orphan  youths  of  good  habits,  to  be  bound  for  a  term  of  years,  to 
the  planters  and  other  early  settlers.  Mr.  Richard  Derbey  settled 
at  Plymouth,  where  he  remained  several  years  ;  but  no  mention  is 
made  of  his  cousin  John  till  the  spring  of  1642,  when  he  had 
arrived  at  legal  age,  and  when  he  brought  an  action  against  his 
cousin,  Mr.  John'  Derbey,  for  a  sum  of  money  sent  to  him  by  his 
uncle  Christopher,  and  not  paid  over  by  said  John  Derbey. 
It  is  probable  that  during  the  four  years  that  had  intervened,  he 
had  served  an  apprenticeship  with  a  carpenter.  This  is  not  cer- 
tain ;  but  it  appears  by  his  will  that  he  was  a  carpenter,  though  in 
deeds  he  is  styled  a  yeoman. 

In  Aug.  1643,  he  was  absent  from  the  colony,  or  was  sick 
and  unable  to  bear  arms  ;  but  it  appears  that  he  was  afterwards  a 
resident  of  Plymouth.  In  1646,  he  married  Hope,  second  daugh- 
ter of  Mr.  John  Howland.  In  1G49,  he  was  of  Barnstable,  and 
that  year  bought  the  homestead  of  Edward  Fitzrandolphe,  the 
original  deed  whereof  is  in  my  possession.  The  land  has  since 
been  sub-divided  many  times,  and  is  now  owned  by  several  indi- 
viduals. It  was  bounded  on  the  north  by  the  County  road,  east 
by  the  Hyannis  road,  extending  across  the  present  line  of  the  rail- 
road, and  was  bounded  south  l)y  the  commons,  and  on  the  west 
by  the  homestead  of  George  Lewis,  Senr.,  and  contained  eight 
acres.  The  deed  also  conveyed  a  garden  spot  and  orchard  on  the 
north  side  of  the  County  road,  now  owned  by  Capt.  Heman  Foster. 
The  ancient  house  on  this  estate  stood  between  the  present  dwel- 
lings of  the  heirs  of  Anna  Childs,  deceased,  and  the  house  formerly 
owned  by  Isaiah  L.  Greene,  Esq.  How  long  he  resided  on  this 
estate  is  not  known.  In  1659,  it  was  owned  and  occupied  by  John 
Davis,  Senr.  Probably  about  this  time  he  removed  to  Great 
Marshes.  No  lands  are  recorded  as  belonging  to  him  in  1654,* 
when  all  were  requked  to  have  their  possessions  entered  and  de- 
scribed on  the  town  books.  He  may  have  resided  about  that  time 
in  another  town,  though  he  was  of  Barnstable  in  165!).  He  bought 
of  his  brother-in-law,  Lieut.  John  Howland,  one  half  of  his  farm 


*  Perhaps  he  did  own  lands;  but  neglected  to  have  them  recorded. 
That  he  was  not  careful  hi  regard  to  his  title  docds  there  is  evidence. 
His  deed  from  Fitzrandolphe  was  not  executed  till  1669.  twenty  vfurs 
after  the  purchase,  and  the  consideiatioii  in  his  deed  from  Howl'aiid  in- 
'dicates  that  the  purchase  was  made  many  years  before  the  date  of  tlie 
deed.  Farms  no  better  in  the  same  vicinity  were  sold  about  that  time 
for  four  times  £16. 


GENEALOGICAL    NOTES    OF    BARNSTABLE    FAMILIES.         157 

which  is  now  owned  by  his  descendants.  The  deed  is  dated  Dec. 
10,  1672,  and  for  the  consideration  of  £16  Mr.  Howland  conveys 
to  him  one-half  of  his  lands  in  Barnstable,  containing  forty-five 
acres  of  upland.  The  deed  is  in  the  hand  writing  of  Gov.  Thom- 
as Hinckley,  is  on  parchment,  and  is  now  in  the  possession  of  the 
family  of  Mr.  Samuel  Chipman  of  Sandwich.  The  lands  sold 
were  bounded,  easterly,  partly  by  the  land  of  John  Otis  and  partly 
by  the  land  of  William  Crocker,  northerly  by  the  marsh,  westerly 
by  the  other  half  of  the  lands  not  sold.  The  boundaries  are  par- 
ticularly described,  and  the  range  between  Howland  and  Chipman 
ran  over  a  well  or  spring,  giving  each  a  privilege  thereto.  Mr. 
Howland  names  his  northern  orchard,  showing  that  at  that  early 
date  he  had  set  out  two.  Elder  Chipman  owned  lands  at  West 
Barnstable  before  1672,  for  in  the  same  deed  he  makes  an  ex- 
change of  meadow  with  his  brother-in-law.  After  his  second  mar- 
riage in  1684  he  removed  to  Sandwich.  He  was  admitted  an 
inhabitant  of  that  town  in  1679,  but  appears  to  have  been  in  Barn- 
stable in  1682.  His  removal  was  deeply  regretted  by  the  people, 
and  many  efforts  were  unsuccessfully  made  to  induce  him  to  return 
to  Barnstable.  The  church,  though  dissatisfied  at  his  removal 
without  their  consent,  agreed  to  pay  him  five  or  six  pounds  annu- 
ally, if  he  would  resume  his  office  of  Elder,  and  the  town  voted 
to  make  him  a  liberal  grant  of  meadow  lands  if  he  would  return. 
These  votes  show  that  his  services  were  appreciated  by  the  mem- 
bers of  the  church,  with  which  he  had  held  communion  nearly 
forty  years,  and  that  he  was  highly  esteemed  as  a  man  and  a 
christian  by  his  fellow  townsmen  and  neighbors. 

His  connection  with  the  Barnstable  church  was  most  happy. 
His  wife  Hope  joined  the  chm'ch  Aug.  7,  1650,  and  he  joined 
Jan'y  30,  1652-3.  "Henry  Cobb  and  John  Chipman  were  chosen 
and  ordained  to  be  ruling  Elders  of  this  same  church,  and- they 
were  solemnly  invested  with  office  upon  ye  14th  day  of  April  Anno 
Dom  :  1670."  [Church  Records. 

It  is  probable  that  he  was  a  deacon  of  the  chm-ch  before  he 
was  elected  Elder.  He  survived  Mr.  Cobb  many  years,  and  was 
the  last  Ruling  Elder  of  the  chm-ch.  Subsequently,  attempts  were 
made  to  revive  the  office.  The  question  was  frequently  discussed 
at  church  meetings  ;  but  a  majority  opposed  another  election. 

His  talents  and  services  in  civil  life  were  duly  appreciated. 
In  June,  1659,  he  and  Isaac  Robinson  and  John  Smith  of  Barn- 
stable, and  John  Cook  of  Plymouth,  were  appointed  by  the  Ply- 
mouth Colony  Court  to  attend  the  meetings  of  the  Quakers  "to  en- 
deavour to  reduce  them  from  the  errors  of  their  wayes." — The  re- 
sult was  that  Robinson,  whose  name  appears  most  prominent  in 
these  proceedings,  recommended  the  repeal  of  the  severe  laws  that 
had  been  enacted  against  that  sect.  Smith  and  Chipman  did  not 
incur  the  censure  of  the  Court,  thousfh  there  is  no  reason  to  doubt 


158        GENEALOGICAL    NOTES    OF    BARNSTABLE    FAMILIES. 

that  they  sympathized  with  Robinson  in  his  views  respecting  the 
impolicy  of  those  laws. 

In  1649  he  was  a  freeman,  and  in  1652  he  was  a  grand-juror, 
and  appointed  by  the  Treasurer  of  the  Colony,  a  committee  for 
the  Town  of  Barnstable  to  receive  'the  proportion  of  oil  taken 
which  belonged  to  the  Colony  ;  in  1663, '4,  '5,  '8  and  '9  he  was 
representative  from  Barnstable  to  the  Colony  Court;  in  1665,  '6, 
'7,  and  '8  he  was  one  of  the  selectmen  of  Barnstable,  who  at  that 
time  exercised,  in  addition  to  other  duties,  the  functions  since  per- 
taining to  justices  of  the  peace;  and  in  1667  he  was  one  of  the 
council  of  war.  For  his  public  services  the  court  in  1669  granted 
him  one  hundred  acres  of  land,  between  Taunton  and  Titicut, 
which  was  afterwards  confirmed  to  him. 

His  will  is  dated  at  Sandwich,  Nov.  12, 1702,  and  was  proved 
May  17,  1708.  In  it  he  says  :  "I  will  and  bequeath  to  Ruth,  my 
dear  and  loving  wife,  all  whatsoever  is  left  of  her  estate,  which  I 
had  with  her  when  I  married  her.  I  also  give  her  one  half  part  of 
my  whole  personal  estate  which  shall  be  found  in  Sandwich  at  my  de- 
cease. Besides  and  moreover,  all  the  carts  plows  and  husbandry 
implements,  as  also  all  the  corn  meat,  flax  wool,  yarn  and  cloth 
that  is  in  the  house  at  my  decease,  and  I  do  give  her  twenty 
pounds  in  money  which  is  due  to  her  by  ye  compact  made  between 
us  at  our  inter-marriage  ;  she  according  to  sd  compact,  upon  pay- 
ment of  this  twenty  pounds  to  qnitt  claim  to  all  right  and  title  and 
interest  in  my  housing  and  lands  att  Barnstable,  and  this  twenty 
pounds  shall  be  paid  her  out  of  that  money  of  mine  in  ye  baud  of 
my  friend  Mr.  Jonathan  Russell  of  Barnstable." 

He  bequeathes  to  his  sons  Samuel  and  John  his  whole  real 
estate  in  Barnstable,  Samuel  two  parts  and  John  one  part,  unless 
my  son  Samuel  pay  his  brother  John  £70  in  lieu  of  his  third  part. 
He  gives  his  son  Samuel  his  carpenters  tools,  then  in  his  posses- 
sion. To  his  two  grand  children  Mary  Gale  and  Jabez  Dimmock 
£5  apiece.  He  names  his  daughters,  Elizabeth,  Hope,  Lydia, 
Hannah,  Ruth,  Bethia,  Mercy  and  Desu-e.  He  appoints  his  sons 
Samuel  and  John  executors,  and  Mr.  Jonathan  Russell  and  Mr. 
Rowland  Cotton  overseers.  Witnesses,  Rowland  Cotton,  Samuel 
Prince  and  Nathan  Bassett.  In  the  inventory  of  his  estate,  taken 
by  Wm.  Bassett  and  Shubael  Smith,  it  stated  that  he  died  7  April, 
1708.  His  real  estate  is  not  apprised. — Among  the  articles  ap- 
prised is  plate  at  8  sh  per  ounce,  £8.2.  ;  Cash,  at  8  sh  per  ounce, 
£51.5.3.  ;  Bills  of  Credit,  £6.6.  ;  Cash  in  Mr.  Jonathan  Russell's 
hands  £20.     18  books,  small  and  great,  £1. 

The  will  of  his  widow  Ruth  is  dated  Dec.  7,  1710,  proved 
Oct.  8,  1713.  As  she  had  no  children  living,  she  gave  her  estate 
to  her  relatives  and  friends.  Of  the  Chipman  family  she  names 
only  Bathsheba,  a  daughter  of  Mr.   JNIelatiali  Bourne,  and  .Tabez 


GENEALOGICAL    NOTES    OF    BARNSTABLE    FAMILIES.        159 

Dimmock,  both  grand  children  of  Elder  Chipman.     Family  of  El- 
der John  Chipman : 

The  births  of  twelve  children  of  Elder  Chipman  are  recorded  ; 
one  at  Plymouth  and  eleven  in  Barnstable,  Elizabeth  is  the  only 
child  named,  older  than  Hope.  In  his  will  dated  at  Sandwich, 
Nov.  12,  1702,  and  proved  May  17,  1708,  he  names  sons  Samuel 
and  John,  and  daughters  Elizabeth,  Hope,  Lydia,  Hannah,  Ruth, 
Mercy,  Bethia  and  Desire. 

To  his  daughters,  he  gave  half  his  moveable  estate  in 
Sandwich  and  Barnstable,  excepting  the  articles  given  to  Samuel, 
and  he  adds  the  following  proviso  :  "And  in  case  any  of  my  said 
daughters  be  dead  before  their  receiving  this  my  bequest,  my  will 
is  that  their  part  be  given  and  distributed  equally  to  their  surviv- 
ing children."  Two  of  the  daughters,  Hannah  and  Ruth,  were 
then  dead,  and  it  is  probable  that  Bethia  had  also  deceased. 

His  first  wife  was  Hope,  second  daughter  of  John  Howland 
and  EKzabeth  Tiley.  Until  the  discovery  of  Bradford's  History 
in  1855,  in  the  Library  of  the  Bishop  of  London,  it  had  been  sup- 
posed that  his  first  wife  was  a  daughter  of  Gov.  Carver. — She  died  in 
Barnstable  and  was  buried  in  the  ancient  burying  ground  on  Lo- 
throp's  Hill.  Her  monument  is  in  good  preservation,  and  the  fol- 
lowing is  a  copy  of  the  inscription  : 

Here  lyeth 

Inteered  ye  Body  of 

Mrs.    Hope    Chipman 

WIFE    OF    Elder    John    Chipman 

AGED        54         YEARS 

WHO  CHANGED  THIS  LIFE 

FOR   A   BETTER 

YE  8th  of  January 
16  83. 
He  married  for  his  second  wife  the  Wid.  Ruth  Bourne.  She 
was  a  daughter  of  Mr.  William  Sargeant,  born  in  Charlestown  25 
Oct.  1642,  married  first,  Jonathan,  son  of  Josiah  Win  slow  of 
Marshfield,  second,  Mr.  Richard  Bourne  of  Sandwich.  She  died 
in  Sandwich  in  1713,  aged  71,  leaving  no  issue.  Elder  John  Chip- 
man  died  in  Sandwich  7  April,  1708,  aged  87  years.  Children  of 
Elder  John  Chipman : 

I.  Elizabeth,  born  24  June,  1 647  at  Plymouth,  baptized  in  Barn- 
stable, Aug.  18,  1650.  Mrs.  Hope  Chipman  was  admitted 
to  the  church  on  the  7th  of  Aug.  1650,  and  Elder  John 
Chipman  Jan'y  30,  1652-3.  Hope  was  baptized,  according 
to  Puritan  usage,  on  the  Sabbath  next  succeeding  her  birth, 
namely  on  the  5th  of  Sept.  1652,  having  been  born  on  the 
31st  of  the  preceeding  August. — Elizabeth  was  the  second 


160        GENEALOGICAL    NOTES    OF    BAKNSTABLE    FAMILIES. 

wife  of  Hosea  Joyce  of  Yarmouth.  He  married  first  Mar- 
tha, and  had  John  and  Dorcas.  His  wife  Martha  died 
April  3,  1670,  and  he  married  Elizabeth  Chipman  before 
1676,  and  had  Samuel,  June  1,  1676  ;  Thomas,  June  3, 
1678,  and  Mary,  Sept.  19,  1680.  The  above  is  all  that  can 
now  be  obtained  from  the  Yarmouth  record,  which  is  muti- 
lated and  a  part  of  the  leaf  gone.  By  his  will  it  is  ascer- 
tained that  he  had  ten  children,  two  by  his  first  wife  Mar- 
tha, and  eight  by  his  second  wife  Elizabeth  Chipman.  1, 
John,  married  first,  Margaret,  daughter  of  John  Miller, 
Feb.  5,  1701-2,  and  second,  Esther,  daughter  of  Jonathan 
White,  Nov.  7,  1707.  He  died  in  1714,  leaving  two  daugh- 
ters. Desire  and  Fear.  His  widow  married  John  Drake  of 
Yarmouth,  and  removed  to  East  Greenwich,  R.  I.,  about  the 
year  1726  ;  2,  Dorcas,  married  Aug.  8, 1695,  Prince  Howes 
of  Yarmouth  ;  3,  Samuel,  died  unmarried  in  1741,  aged  65  ; 
4,  Thomas,  married  March  19,  1719,  Mary,  daughter  of 
Jeremiah  Bacon- of  Barnstable.  He  had  one  son  Jeremiah 
a  cripple,  died  unmarried  in  1755,  and  five  daughters  noted 
for  their  beauty.  He  was  a  man  of  wealth,  became 
melancholy,  and  from  fear  of  starvation  committed  suicide 
20  April,  1743  ;  5,  Mary,  married  James  Gorham  Sept.  29, 
1707,  and  had  five  children.  The  other  children  of  Hosea 
Joyce  were  Hosea,  whom  his  father  cut  off  in  his  will  by 
giving  him  his  "small  gun"  ;  Lydia  who  married  Nov.  20, 

1706,  Ebenezer  Howes  ;  Martha,  who  married Godfrey  ; 

Mehitable;  and  Dorothy  who  married  Dec.  12,  1717,  John 
Oats,  an  Englishman.  His  descendants  write  their  name 
Otis,  and  reside  principally  in  Maine.  Hosea  Joyce  died  in 
Feb.  1712,  and  his  widow  Elizabeth  sm-vived  him.  He  had 
a  large  landed  estate,  and  in  his  will  calls  his  wife  "well 
beloved,"  though  he  appears  to  have  loved  his  money 
better,  for  he  gave  her  but  a  small  portion  of  his  estate. 
"The  stille-borne  maide  childe  of  John  Chipman  buryed 
Sept.  9,  1650."— [Church  Records. 
II.  Hope,  born  August  31,  1652,  in  Barnstable,  married  Aug. 
10,  1670,  John,  son  of  Mr.  Thomas  Huckins  of  Barnstable, 
and  had  Elizabeth,  1  Oct.  1671  ;  Mary,  3  April,  1673  ;  Ex- 
perience, 4  June,  1675,  and  Hope,  10  May,  1677.  John 
Huckins  'died  10  Nov.  1678,  aged  28,  and  she  married 
March  1,  1682.-3,  Jonathon,  son  of  Elder  Henry  Cobb  of 
Barnstable,  born  10  April,  1660.  He  was  twenty-two  and 
his  wife  thirty  at  the  time  of  their  marriage.  By  him  she 
had  five  children  born  in  Barnstable.  June  3,  1703,  she 
was  dismissed  from  the  Church  in  Barnstable,  to  the  Church 
in  Middleboro'.  From  that  town  the  family  removed  to 
Portland,  Maine.   (See  Cobb.) 


GENEALOGICAL   NOTES    OF    BARNSTABLE    FAMILIES.         161 

III.  Lydia,  born  Dec.  25,  1654.  She  was  the  third  wife  of 
John,  son  of  Mr.  "William  Sargeant  of  Barnstable,  removed 
to  Maiden,  where  she  died  March  2,  1730,  aged  76,  leaving 
no  issue. 

IV.  John,  born  2d  March,  1656-7,  died  29th  May,  1657. 

V.  Hannah,  born  14th  Jan'y,  1658-9,  married  Thomas  Huckins, 
May  1,  1680.  She  died  in  Barnstable,  4th  Nov.  1696,  aged 
37,  leaving  eight  children.     (See  Huckins.) 

VI.  Samuel,  born  15th  April,  1661. — He  had  ten  children.  Many 
of  his  sons  were  distinguished  men.  (See  an  account  of  his 
family  below.) 

VII.  Ruth,  born  31st  Dec.  1663-,  married  7th  April,  1682,  Eleazer 
Crocker  of  Barnstable.  She  died  8th  April,  1698,  aged  34, 
leaving  ten  children.     (See  Crocker.) 

VIII.  Bethia,  born  1st  July,  1666,  married,  as  I  have  noted,  Shu- 
bael  Dimmock.  The  Jabez  Dimmock  and  Mary  G-ale  named 
in  the  will  of  Elder  Chipman  were  probably  children  of 
Bethia.  She  died  early.  Shubael  Dimmock  married  4th 
May,  1699,  Tabitha  Lothropf  or  his  second  wife. 

IX.  Mercy,  born  6th  Feb.,  1668,  married  Dea.  Nathaniel  Skiff, 
removed  to  Chilmark  where  she  died. 

X.  John,  born  3d  March,  1670-1.     (See  account  of  him  below.) 

XI.  Desire,  born  26th  Feb.,  1673-4,  married  Hon.  Melatiah 
Bourne  of  Sandwich,  Feb.  23,  1696-6.  She  died  March  28, 
1705,  aged  31.  (See  Bourne,  where  her  name  in  one  place 
is  erroneously  printed  Bethia,  and  in  the  same  paragraph 
"Rev."  before  the  name  of  Thomas  Smith  should  be 
erased.) 

Dea.  Samuel  Chipman,  son  of  Elder  John  Chipman,  born  in 
Barnstable,  15th  April,  1661,  inherited  the  homestead  of  his 
father.  He  was  a  carpenter  ;  but  farming  was  his  principal  busi- 
ness. He  kept  a  public  house,  and  was  a  retailer  of  spirituous 
liquors,  a  business  not  then  held  to  be  incompatible  with  the  office 
of  Deacon  of  the  chui'ch.  He  was  a  man  of  good  business  habits, 
often  employed  as  a  town  officer,  and  there  were  few  in  town  who 
stood  higher  than  he  in  public  estimation.  He  was  ordained  a 
deacon  of  the  church  in  Barnstable,  Sept.  1,  1706.*  He  married 
Dec.  27,  1686,  Sarah,  daughter  of  Elder  Henry  Cobb.  He  died 
in  1723,  aged  63,  and  his  widow  Sarah  Jan'y  8,  1742-3,  aged  79 
years. 

Children  of  Dea.  Samuel  Chipman  born  in  Barnstable. 
I.        Thomas,  born,  17th  Nov.,  1687.     He  removed  to  Groton, 


*After  this  date  the  custom  of  ordaining  deacons  appears  to  have  been  discontinued. 
The  subject  was  discussed  at  several  meetings  of  the  Church,  but  a  majority  was  not  in  fa- 
vor of  reviving  the  custom.  The  deacons  of  the  East  Church,  organized  in  1725,  were  not 
ordained.  Aug.  6, 1732,  a  church  meeting  was  held  to  consider  the  propriety  of  reviving 
the  office  of  Ruling  Elder  and  ordaining  deacons.  Aug.  21,  1734,  another  meeting  was 
held,  which  was  not  harmonious. 


162        GENEALOGICAL    NOTES    OF    BAKNSTABLE    FAMILIES. 

Conn.,  where  he  remained  several  years,  and  from  that  town 
removed  to  Salisbury,  Conn.,  where  he  held  high  rank  in  the 
town  and  county.  He  was  appointed  a  judge  in  1751 ;  but 
*  died  before  he  held  a  court.  His  son,  Samuel,  who  removed 
to  Tinmouth,  Vt.,  was  the  father  of  Chief  Justice  Nathaniel 
Chipman,  L.  L.  D.,  and  of  the  late  Hon.  Daniel  Chipman  of 
Vermont.     (See  Hinman,  page  576.) 

II.  Samuel,  born  Aug.  6,  1689.  He  was  a  deacon  of  the  Barn- 
stable Church,  and  kept  the  "Chipman  tavern,"  noted  in 
former  times.  He  married  Dec.  8,  1715,  Abiah,  (bap'd 
Abigail)  daughter  of  John  Hinckley,  Jr.,  (sou  of  G-ov. 
Thomas.)  She  died  July  15,  1736,  and  he  maj-ried  second, 
Mrs.  Mary  Green  of  Boston,  1739.  His  children  were,  1,  a 
son  born  Aug.  1717,  died  25th  Aug.  following  ;  2,  Hannah, 
born  1st  July,  1719  ;  3,  Samuel,  born  21st  November,  1721, 
removed  to  Groton,  Conn.,  and  had  descendants  in  that 
vicinity;  4,  Dea.  Timothy,  born  30th  April,  1723,  married 
Elizabeth  Bassett  of  Sandwich,  Jan'y  23,  1762.  He  was  a 
deacon  of  the  church  in  West  Barnstable,  and  died  Aug.  24, 

1770.  His  children  were  Abigail,  Dec.  9.  1752,  died  young  ; 
Samuel,  May  8,  1754  ;  Mary,  Nov.  1,  1755  ;  Abigail,  again 
Jan'y  31,  1758,  died  young;  William,  Feb.  4,  1760;  John, 
June  24,  1762  ;  Timothy,  May  6,  1764  ;  and  Elizabeth,  Jan'y 
27,  1767,  who  died  young.  Ebenezer,  5th  child  of  Dea. 
Samuel,  born  9th  of  Sept.,  1726,  removed  to  Middletown, 
Conn.,  where  he  has  descendants.  John,  sixth  child  of 
Dea.  Samuel,  born  June  30,  1728,  removed  to  Stratford, 
Conn.,  and  thence  to  Middletown.  Hinman  says  he  has 
descendants  residing  at  New  Haven,  Waterbury,  &c.  ;  7, 
Mary,  daughter  of  Dea.  Samuel,  born  2d  May,  1731,  mar- 
ried March  11,  1750,  Samuel  Jenkins  of  Barnstable,  and 
removed  to  Gorham,  Maine.  Mr.  Charles  H.  Bursley  has 
two  interesting  letters  from  her,  and  one  from  her  husband 
after  their  removal.  Her  children  born  in  Barnstable  were, 
Josiah,  Sept.  30,  1750;  Deborah,  Feb.  2,  1752;  Abiah, 
Jan'y,  27,  1754;  Samuel,  Nov.  23,  1755  ;  Mary,  Jan'y  16, 
1758,  and  Joseph,  June  6,  1760.  The  three  sons  were  sol- 
diers in  the  Revolutionary  army.  Joseph  died  April  20, 
1783,  near  West  Point,  of  consumption.  He  had  been  in 
the  army  two  years.  The  other  members  of  the  family  mar- 
ried and  had  families.  Mr.  Jenkins  writing  respecting  his 
grand  children,  says  "It  seems  to  me  they  are  the  prettiest 
children  that  I  see  anywhere."  Nathaniel,  eighth  child  of 
Dea.  Samuel  was  born  31st  January,  1732-3  ;  Joseph,  ninth 
child,  born  26th  May,  1740,  died  July  4,  1740. 

III.  John,  born  16th  Feb.,  1691,  graduated  at  Harvard  College, 

1771,  and  ordained  over  the  second  church  at  Beverly,  Dec. 


GENEALOGICAL    NOTES    OF    BARNSTABLE    FAMILIES.         163 

28,  1715.  He  married  Feb.  12,  1718,  Rebecca,  daughter  of 
Dr.  Robert  Hale.  He  died  March  23,  1775.  His  son  John, 
born  Oct.  23,  1722,  graduated  at  Harvard  College  1738.  He 
was  a  lawyer  and  resided  at  Marblehead.  His  son  Ward,  a 
graduate  of  Harvard  College,  1770,  was  a  Judge  of  the 
Supreme  Court  of  New  Brunswick,  and  died  president  of 
that  province.  He  left  an  only  child,  the  late  Chief  Justice 
Ward  Chipman,  L.  L.  D. 

IV.  Abigail,  born  15th  Sept.,  1692,  she  was  baptised  Oct.  30, 
1692,  by  the  name  of  Mercy.  Probably  her  name  was 
changed  to  Abigail  after  her  baptism.  She  married  March 
14,  1713,  Nath'l  Jackson. 

V.  Joseph,  born  10th  January,  1694,  according  to  the  town 
record.  He  was  baptized  March  4,  1692-3,  so  that  both 
records  cannot  be  accurate. 

VI.  Jacob,  born  30th  Aug.,  1695,  married  25th  Oct.,  1721,  Abi- 
gail Fuller,  she  died  Oct.  5,  1724,  and  he  married  for  his 
second  wife  in  1725,  Bethia  Thomas.  He  had  children, 
Sarah,  born  Nov.  23,  1722,  and  Elizabeth,  June  16,  1724, 
afterwards  changed  to  Abigail.  The  latter  married  July  8, 
1742,  Stephen  Cobb. 

VII.  Seth,  born  24th  Feb.  1697.     In  1723  he  was  of  Plymouth  , 
and  called  a  cooper.     He  was  afterwards  of  Kingston,  and 
is  the  ancestor  of  most  of  the  name  in  Maine. 

VIII.  Hannah,  born  24th  Sept.,  1699,  married  Dec.  25,  1713, 
Barnabas  Lothrop,  Jr.,  his  second  wife,  she  died,  June  11, 
1763. 

IX.  Sarah,  born  1st  November,  1701.  She  died  July  1,  1715, 
aged  14  years  and  8  months,  and  is  buried  near  her  grand- 
mother in  the  ancient  burying  ground. 

X.  Barnabas,  born  24th  March,  1702.  He  was  a  deacon  of  the 
West  Church,  and  was  an  influential  citizen.  He  has  de- 
scendants in  Vermont,  Michigan  and  Iowa.  He  married 
20th  Feb.,  1727-8,  Elizabeth  Hamblen  and  had  1,  Barnabas, 
28th  Dec,  1748,  who  married  MaryBlackwell  of  Sandwich, 
in  1721,  and  had  Martha,  Sept.  4,  1752  ;  Elizabeth,  Feb.  8, 
1755  ;  Joseph,  May  14,  1758,  deacon  of  the  East  Church ; 
Hannah,  June  6,  1760;  and  Barnabas,  Nov.  20,  1763;  2, 
Joseph,  born  22d  Dec.  1731 ;  3,  Elizabeth,  12th  May,  1734, 
she  married  Nov.  23,  1758,  Nath'l  Hinckley,  2d.  ;  4,  Thom- 
as, born  5th  March,  1735-6,  married  Bethia  Fuller  of  Col- 
chester in  1760,  and  had  Timothy  Fuller,  Feb.  1,  1761  ; 
Isaac,  Sept.  12,  1762,  and  Rebecca,  Jan'y  26,  1764 ; 
Hannah,  20th  Feb.  1737-8. 

John  Chipman,  son  of  Elder  John,  born  in  Barnstable,  March 
3,  1670,  was  a  cordwainer,  or  shoemaker.  He  removed  early  to 
Sandwich,  and  from  thence  to  Chilmark,  Martha's  Vineyard,  and 


164        GENEALOGICAL    NOTES    OF    BARNSTABLE    FAMILIES. 

afterwards  to  Newport,  R.  I.  During  his  residence  at  Martha's 
Vineyard  he  was  one  of  the  Justices  of  the  Court,  and  after  his 
removal  to  Newport,  he  was  an  assistant  to  the  governor.  Ee- 
specting  him  I  have  little  information  ;  but  it  is  just  to  infer  that 
if  a  poor  mechanic  rises  to  places  of  honor  and  trust,  he  must  be 
a  man  of  some  talent  and  of  sound  judgement.  He  was  thrice 
married.  First,  in  1691,  to  Mary  Skeffe,  a  daughter  of  Capt. 
Stephen.  She  died  in  1711,  aged  40.  Second,  in  1716,  to  Widow 
Elizabeth   Russell,    her   third   marriage.      She   was   a    daughter 

of  Capt.  Thomas  Handley,,  and  married  first, Pope.      Third 

in  1725,  to  (Hannah  ?)  Hookey  of  R.  I.  His  thirteen  childi'en 
were  probably  all  born  in  Sandwich. 

I.  John,  died  young. 

II.  James,  born  18th Dec,  1694. 

III.  John,  born  18th  Sept.  1697,  married  Hannah  Fessenden  of 
Cambridge,  Sept.  26,  1726. 

IV.  Mary,  born  Dec.  11,  1699. 

V.  Bethia,  twin  sister  of  Mary,  married  Samuel  Smith,  Oct. 
6,  1717. 

VI.  Perez,  28th  Sept.,  1702,  is  the  ancestor  of  the  Delaware, 
Carolina  and  Mississippi  families  of  the  name. 

VII.  Deborah,  6th  Dec,  1704. 

VIII.  Stephen,  9th  June,  1708. 

IX.  Lydia,  twin  sister  of  Stephen. 

X.  Ebenezer,    13th   Nov.,    1709.      He   married   Mary  ■  , 

resided  at  Falmouth  where  his  son  John  was  born  April  10, 
1733,  afterwards  of  Barnstable,  where  he  had  Ebenezer. 

XI.  Handley,  31st  Aug.,  1717.  He  removed  with  his  father  to 
Chilmark,  thence  to  Providence,  R.  I.,  and  in  1761  to 
Cornwallis,  N.  S.  He  was  a  distinguished  man,  and  his 
descendants  are  numerous  and  respectable. 

XII.  Rebecca,  10th  Nov.  1719. 

XIII.  Benjamin. 

Few  families  are  more  widely  disseminate  than  this.  Elder 
Chipman  had  eleven  children  and  eighty-two  grand-children,  near- 
ly aU  of  whom  married  and  had  families.  The  Rev.  K.  M. 
Chipman  has  for  several  years  been  employed  in  compiling  a  gen- 
ealogy of  the  family,  extending  to  the  ninth  generation. — Want 
of  funds  has  prevented  him  from  publishing.  No  harm  will  result 
from  the  delay.  It  will  give  him  an  opportunity  to  correct  some 
important  mistakes  into  which  he  has  fallen,  and  from  which  no 
genealogist  can  claim  exemption. 

The  manuscript  of  the  "Declaration"  of  John  Chipman,  from 
which  we  copy  is  not,  as  has  been  supposed,  an  original  document 
in  the  handwriting  of  the  Elder.  It  is  in  the  hand  writing  of  John 
Otis,  Esq.,  an  elder  brother  of  Col.  James,  born  thirty  years  after 


GENEALOGICAL   NOTES    OF   BARNSTABLE   FAMILIES.        165 

the  date  of  the  Declaration.  Notwithstanding  it  is  reliable,  for 
the  principal  facts  are  corroborated  by  the  deposition  of  Ann 
Hinde  and  by  records  in  Doreetshire,  England.  I  cannot  learn 
that  his  descendants  ever  obtained  anything  from  the  estate, 
which  was  illegally  conveyed  by  Thomas  Chipman  to  Christopher 
Derby. 

Mr.  Hinman  says  there  is  no  evidence  that  John  Chipman  re- 
ceived any  benefit  from  the  grants  made  to  him  by  the  Plymouth 
Colony.  The  presumption  is  that  he  did.  The  others  to  whom 
grants  were  made  at  the  same  time,  and  at  the  same  place,  re- 
ceived theirs,  and  no  legal  or  other  diflSculty  prevented  Mr.  Chip- 
man  from  obtaining  his  right. 

Chipman  is  an  ancient  name  and  occurs  as  early  ag  A.  D. 
1070,  on  the  Doomsday  Survey  Book.  Originally  the  name  was 
written  De  Chippenham,  or  by  the  armorial  bearings  Chippenham. 
There  are  three  places  in  England  of  this  name,  and  whether 
these  places  derived  their  names  from  the  family,  or  the  family 
from  the  places  is  a  matter  of  no  importance.  The  meaning  of 
of  the  name  is  Chapman's  town  or  home. 


COBB. 


ELDER   HEISTEY    COBB. 

Elder  Henry  Cobb  the  ancestor  of  the  Cobb  Family  of  Barn- 
stable, was  of  Plymouth  in  1632,  of  Scituate  in  1633,  and  of 
Barnstable  in  1639.  According  to  the  Eev.  Mr.  Lothrop's  re- 
cords, Goodman  Cobb's  dwelling  house  in  Scituate,  was  con- 
structed before  September  1634,  and  was  the  seventh  built  in  that 
town  by  the  English.  He  afterwards  sold  this  house  to  Henry 
Rowley,  and  built  on  his  lot  in  Kent  Street,  house  numbered 
thirty-two  on  Mr.  Lothrop's  list.  Mr.  Deane  in  his  history  of 
Scituate  says  he  was  one  of  the  "men  of  Kent,"  and  that  in  addi- 
tion to  his  house  lot,  he  owned  eighty  acres  on  North  River, 
which  was  afterwards  the  farm  of  Ephraim  Kempton,  and  then  of 
John  James. 

On  the  23d  of  November,  1634,  Gi-oodman  Cobb  and  other 
members  of  the  church  at  Plymouth  "were  dismissed  from  their 
membershipp  in  case  they  joyned  in  a  body  att  Scituate."  On  the 
8th  of  January  following,  Mr.  Lothrop  makes  the  following  entry 
in  his  records  :  '  'Wee  had  a  day  of  humiliation  and  then  att  night 
joyned  in  covenannt  togeather,  so  many  of  us  as  had  beene  in 
Covenannt  before ;  to  witt,  Mr.  Gilson  and  his  wife,  Goodman 
Anniball  and  his  wife,  Goodman  Rowley  and  his  wife,  Goodman 
■Cob  and  his  wife,  Goodman  Turner,  Edward  Foster,  myselfe, 
Goodman  Foxwell  and  Samuel  House."  The  two  last  named  may 
have  been  a  part  of  the  company  who  arrived  in  the  Griffin  with 
Mr.  Lothrop  ;  but  the  others  had  been  in  the  Colony  several  years. 
It  is  probable  that  many  of  them  had  been  members  of  the  Con- 
gregational Church  in  London,  and  that  this  meeting  was  a  re- 
union under  their  old  Pastor  of  those  who  had  before  been  "in 
convenannt  togeather."  Goodman  Cobb  was  a  leading  and  influ- 
ential member,  and  for  forty-four  years  was  either  the  senior  dea- 
con, or  a  ruling  elder  of  the  church. 

When  it  was  proposed  that  the  church  remove  to  Sippican, 


GENEALOGICAL   NOTES    OF   BARNSTABLE   FAMILIES.        167 

now  Eochester,  Dea.  Cobb  was  one  of  the  committee  to  whom  the 
Colony  Court  in  1638  granted  the  lands  for  a  township  ;  and 
when  it  was  afterwards  decided  to  remove  to  Mattakeese,  now 
Barnstable,  he  was  a  member  of  the  committee  having  charge  of 
the  selecting  of  a  suitable  location  for  the  settlement. 

Deacon  Cobb's  house  lot  in  Barnstable  containing  seven  acres, 
was  situate  at  a  little  distance  north  from  the  present  Unitarian 
Meeting  House,  between  the  lots  of  Thomas  Huckins  on  the 
north  and  Eoger  Goodspeed  on  the  south,  extending  from  George 
Lewis'  meadow  on  the  west  t^  the  "Old  Mill  Way"  on  the  east. 
This  tract  of  land  is  uneven  and  a  large  portion  was  originally  a 
swamp.  It  was  not  one  of  the  most  desirable  lots  in  the  settle- 
ment. 

His  other  lands  were  the  neck  of  land  and  the  meadows  ad- 
joining, where  Cobb  &  Smith's  wharf  and  stores  are  now  situate, 
bounded  southerly  by  Lewis  Hill  and  John  Davis'  marsh  and  on 
the  other  sides  by  the  surrounding  creeks. 

His  Great  Lot,  containing  three  score  acres,  was  situate  on 
the  south  side  of  the  County  road,  between  the  present  dwelling 
houses  of  Joseph  Cobb  and  James  Otis.  It  was  bounded  in  1654, 
easterly  by  the  lands  of  Henry  Taylor  and  Joshua  Lumbard, 
southerly  by  the  commons,  westerly  partly  by  the  commons  and 
partly  by  Goodman  Foxwell's  land,  and  northerly  by  the  highway 
and  Henry  Taylor's  land. 

Two  lots  of  six  acres  each  in  the  new  Common  Field. 

One  acre  of  Goodspeed's  lot,  (the  deep  bottom  on  the  north 
of  the  Meeting  House)  then  town's  commons  was  granted  to  him 
in  1665,  in  payment  for  land  damages  "by  ye  highway  running 
over  or  between  his  land  from  ye  gate  to  Thomas  Huckins." 
This  acre  was  situated  between  "The  Gate"  at  the  entrance  to  the 
old  miU  way  and  the  present  Pound.  He  was  also  one  of  the 
proprietors  of  the  common  lands  in  the  town  of  Barnstable,  and 
owned  lands  in  Suckinneset,  now  Falmouth. 

Deacon  Cobb's  house  lot  was  rough  and  uneven,  and  not 
desirable  land  for  cultivation.  His  great  lot  had  some  good  soil. 
It  was  a  good  grazing  farm,  and  as  the  raising  of  cattle  was  the 
principle  business  of  the  first  settlers,  his  lands  were  probably 
Selected  with  reference  to  that  object.  His  two  lots  in  the  new 
Common  Field  had  a  rich  soil,  and  was  occupied  as  planting 
lands. 

He  appears  to  have  built  two  houses  on  his  home  lot.  The 
first  was  probably  a  temporary  one  to  shelter  his  family  till  he  had 
time  and  means  to  build  a  better.  It  is  a  curious  fact  that  the 
three  deacons  of  the  church  lived  in  stone  or  fortification  houses. 
It  was  required  that  such  houses  should  be  built  in  every  planta- 
tion as  a  place  of  refuge  for  the  inhabitants,  should  the  Indians 
prove  treacherous  or  hostile.     It  seems  that  the  deacons  then  pro- 


168       GENEALOGICAL   NOTES    OF   BARNSTABLE    FAMILIES. 

vided  for  the  personal  safety,  as  well  as  the  spiritual  wants  of  the 
people.  Deacon  Cobb  built  his  house  on  his  lot,  where  the  house 
formerly  occupied  by  Josiah  Lewis  stands — a  spot  well  selected 
for  defence  against  Indian  hostilities.  Dea.  Dimmock's  stood  a 
little  east  from  the  dwelling  house  of  Isaac  Davis,  and  'Dea. 
Crocker's  at  West  Barnstable.  The  two  latter  were  remaining 
within  the  memory  of  persons  now  living.  They  were  about 
twenty-iive  feet  square  on  the  ground ;  the  lower  story  was  of 
stone,  the  upper  of  wood. 

Elder  Cobb  died  in  1679,  having  lived  to  a  good  old  age,  and 
was  buried  in  the  grave  yard  on  Lothrop's  Hill.  No  monument 
marks  the  spot  where  rest  his  mortal  remains — no  epitaph  records 
his  virtues.  Deane  says  "he  was  a  useful  and  valuable  man,"  and 
there  is  beauty  and  truth  in  the  words.  He  lived  to  be  useful  not 
to  amass  wealth  or  acquire  political  distinction. 

When  a  young  man,  he  separated  himself  from  the  Church  of 
England  and  joined  the  Puritans,  then  few  in  numbers,  without 
influence,  poor,  despised  and  persecuted  by  the  civil  and  ecclesias- 
tical powers.  It  appears  that  he  joined  Mr.  Lothrop's  church  in 
London,  the  members  whereof  were  tolerant  in  their  views,  inde- 
pendent and  fearless  in  advocating  the  cause  of  religious  liberty 
and  the  rights  of  conscience,  and  bold  in  their  denunciations  of 
all  human  creeds.  He  did  not  escape  persecution,  but  he  for- 
tunately escaped  being  fconfined  for  two  long  years  with  Mr. 
Lothrop  and  twenty-four  members  of  his  church  in  the  foul  and 
loathsome  prisons  of  London. 

He  came  to  this  country  to  secure  religious  liberty  and  the 
freedom  of  conscience — utterly  detesting  all  human  creeds,  and 
firmly  believing  that  the  life  is  the  best  evidence  of  christian  faith. 
He  remained  in  Plymouth  a  few  years,  joined  in  church  fellowship 
with  the  followers  of  Robinson,  and  listened  to  the  teaching  of 
the  mild  and  venerable  Brewster. 

In  1633,  he  went  to  Scituate,  then  a  new  settlement,  and 
assisted  in  clearing  the  forests  and  building  up  a  town.  The  next 
year  his  pastor  Mr.  Lothrop  came  over  and  settled  in  that  town, 
and  soon  after,  many  of  his  ancient  friends  and  brethren  were  his 
townsmen.  After  the  organization  of  the  church,  they  invested 
him  with  the  office  of  senior  deacon,  a  mark  of  their  confidence 
in  his  ability  and  of  their  esteem  for  him  as  a  man  and  a  christian. 

In  Barnstable  he  was  active  and  useful  in  promoting  the 
temporal,  and  in  ministering  to  the  spiritual  wants  of  the  first 
settlers.  He  was  a  town  officer,  a  member  of  the  most  important 
town  committees,  and  in  1645,  1647,  1652,  1659,  1660  and  1661, 
a  deputy  to  the  Colony  Court.  On  the  14th  of  April,  1670,  he 
was  chosen  and  ordained  a  ruling  elder  of  the  Barnstable  church, 
an  office  which  he  held  till  his  death  in  1679. 

Elder  Cobb  was  not  a  man  of  brilliant  talents.     He  was  a 


GENEALOGICAL    NOTES    OF    BARNSTABLE    FAMILIES.         169 

useful  man,  and  an  exemplary  Christian.  With  perhaps  one 
exception  his  life  was  a  living  illustration  of  his  political  and 
religious  opinions.  When  in  1657,  mainly  through  the  influence 
of  men  in  the  Massachusetts  Colony,  a  spirit  of  intolerance  spread 
through  the  Plymouth  Colony,  and  laws  were  enacted  that  an 
enlightened  common  sense  condemns,  and  which  were  in  violation 
of  the  principles  of  religious  liberty  which  the  fathers  had  held 
sacred.  Elder  Cobb  was  one  of  the  deputies  to  the  G-eneral 
Court,  and  there  is  no  evidence  to  show  that  he  did  not  approve 
of  their  enactment.  In  so  doing  he  violated  principles  which  he 
had  long  cherished  and  held  sacred.  It  would  have  been  better 
for  his  reputation  had  he  like  his  friends  Smith,  Cudworth  and 
Robinson  and  nearly  all  of  the  "first  comers"  then  living,  pro- 
tested against  these  intolerant  measures,  and  like  them  retired  to 
private  life  with  clear  consciences  and  an  unspotted  reputation. 

Four  years  were  sufficient  to  sweep  away  every  vestige  of  the 
fanatical  and  intolerant  spirit  which  had  spread  ovef  the  Old 
Colony.  How  could  it  be  otherwise  ?  How  could  men  who  had 
themselves  suffered  persecution,  imprisonment  and  stripes  for 
conscience  sake,  and  who  had  through  life  stoutly  maintained  that 
God  alone  was  the  judge  of  men's  consciences,  how  could  they, 
when  the  excitement  had  passed  away,  believe  it  right  to  perse- 
cute Baptists  and  Quakers  and  wrong  to  persecute  Puritans.  The 
absurdity  of  such  a  course  forced  itself  upon  the  minds  of  such 
men  as  Elder  Cobb,  and  soon  wrought  a  complete  change  in  pub- 
lic opinion. 

Three  of  the  name  of  Cobb  came  to  New  England,  and  if 
John  of  Plymouth  and  John  of  Taunton  are  not  the  same,  four. 
The  Cobbs  of  Georgia  are  a  different  family,  though  perhaps 
remotely  related.  Thomas  R.  R.  Cobb  a  brother  of  the  rebel 
general  Howell  Cobb  in  a  letter  dated  at  Athens,  Geo.,  April  7, 
1857,  says,  "I  have  but  little  information  as  to  my  remote  ances- 
try. The  tradition  as  I  have  received  it  from  my  father,  is  that 
seven  brothers  originally  emigrated  from  England.  Four  settled 
in  Vh'ginia,  three  went  to  Massachusetts.  Their  names  or  subse- 
quent history  I  never  learned.  I  have  heard  my  father  say  that 
his  grandfather  would  frequently  relate  that  the  brother  from 
whom  he  was  descended,  bought  his  wife  from  an  emigrant  ship 
for  700  lbs.  of  tobacco.  My  father,  grandfather  and  great- 
grandfather were  all  named  John." 

Traditions  are  usually  worthless.  Three  of  the  name  came 
to  Massachusetts,  as  stated  in  the  letter  ;  but  there  is  no  evidence 
that  they  were  brothers.  The  presumption  is  they  were  not. 
Mr.  Pratt  in  his  history  of  Eastham,  page  27,  gives  an  account  of 
the  origin  of  the  Cobb  families  founded  on  a  tratition  which  is 
wholly  unreliable.  He  says  four  of  the  name,  sons  of  Sylvanus, 
came  over,  namely,  Jonathan  from  Harwich,  England,  settled  in 


170        GENEALOGICAL    NOTES    OP    BARNSTABLE    FAMILIES. 

Eastham  ;  Eleazer  iu  Hingham  ;  Sylvauus  north  of  Boston  ;  and 
Benjamin,  whose  sou  Isaac  was  Port  Admiral  of  Yarmouth,  Eng- 
land. Jonathan  was  a  descendant  of  Henrj'  and  born  in  Barn- 
stable. Eespecting  Benjamin,  the  document  quoted  by  Mr. 
Pratt,  says  he  settled  near  Rhode  Island,  which  is  very  doubtful. 
Descendants  of  Augustine  were  in  that  vicinity.  The  Eleazer  and 
Sylvanus  he  named  were  probably  both  descendants  of  Henry. 
No  Eleazer  settled  in  Hingham.  The  earliest  of  the  name  in  that 
town  was  Richard  who  is  called  of  Boston.  He  had  a  son 
Thomas  born  28th  March,  1693,  probably  the  one  of  that  name 
who  settled  in  Eastham,  and  married  Mary  Freeman,  before  1719. 
A  Thomas  Cobb,  Sen'r,  died  in  Hingham  Jau'y  -i,  1707-8. 

Edward  Cobb  was  of  Taunton  in  1657,  married  at  Plymouth, 
28th  Nov.  1660,  Mary  Haskius,  and  died  1675,  leaving  a  son 
Edward.     His  widow  married  Samuel  Philips. 

Augustine  Cobb  was  of  Taunton  in  1670,  and  had  Elizabeth, 
born  lOtisFeb.  1771  ;  Morgan,  29th  Dec.  1673  ;  Samuel,  9th  Nov. 
1675  ;  Bethia,  5th  April,  1678 ;  Mercy,  12th  Aug.  1680 ;  and 
Abigail,  1684.  Gen.  David  Cobb,  one  of  the  aids  of  Washington 
in  the  army  of  the  Revolution  is  a  descendant  from  Augustine. 

John  Cobb  of  Taunton  from  1653  to  1677,  Mr.  Boylies  says, 
came  from  Plymouth,  if  so,  he  was  a  son  of  Henry  of  Barnstable. 
A  John  Cobb  who  appears  to  have  been  a  resident  in  Taunton, 
administered  on  the  estate  of  his  brother'Gershom  who  was  killed 
at  Swanzey  by  the  Indians,  June  24,  1675.  Mr.  Savage  thinks 
there  were  two  John  Cobbs ;  but  1  prefer  the  authority  of.  Mr. 
Baylies.  There  is  only  one  entry  on  the  records,  that  favors  the 
supposition  that  there  were  two  John  Cobbs,  and  that  after  careful 
examination,  I  think  is  an  error  of  the  town  clerk  of  Taunton. 

Elder  Henrj'  Cobb  married  in  1631,  Patience,  daughter  of 
Dea.  James  Hurst,  of  Plymouth.  She  was  "bui-yed  May  4,  1648, 
the  first  that  was  buryed  in  our  new  burying  place  by  our  meeting 
house."  (Lothrop's  Church  Rec.)  He  was  married  to  his  second 
wife,  Sarah,  daughter  of  Samuel  Hinckley  by  Mr.  Prince,  Dec.  12, 
1649.     He  died  in  1679,  and  his  wife  Sarah  survived  him. 

In  his  will  dated  April  4,  1678,  proved  June  3,  1679,  and  in 
the  codicil  thereto  dated  Feb.  28,  1678,  he  gives  his  great  lot  of 
land  in  Barnstable  to  his  son  James,  the  latter  paying  Elder  Cobb's 
John  £5  for  his  interest  therein.  Names  his  sons  John,  James, 
Gershom  and  Eleazer,  to  whom  he  had  theretofore  given  half  his 
lands  at  Suckinesset, — gave  his  "new  dwelling  house"*  and  all 

*  "His  new  dwelling  house."  lam  inclined  to  the  opinion  that  Elder  Cobb  sold  liis 
stone  house  to  Nathaniel  Bacon,  in  his  life  time  and  that  the  house  to  which  he  refers  was 
on  his  "great  lot,"  and  that  it  was  afterwards  owned  by  son  Oames  and  grandson  Gershom. 
In  1823,  Mr.  Josiah  Childs  a  descendent  in  the  female  line  pointed  out  a  post  to  me  in  his 
fence,  and  said  fifty  years  ago  I  mortised  that  post  from  a  timber  taken  iVom  the  house  of  the 
first  G-ei-shom  Cobb,  and  said  that  fi-om  information  he  had  obtained  fi-om  his  ancestors,  the 
house  was  OTer  one  hundred  years  old  when  consequently  was  built  in  the  life  time  of  the 
Klder.  That  house  stood  on  his  "great  lot,"  near  tlie  ancient  pear  tree  now  standing. 
(See  account  of  3d  f  Icrshom  Hall.) 


GENEALOGICAL    NOTES    OF    BARNSTABLE    FAMILIES.         171 

the  rest  of  his  uplands  and  meadows  to  his  wife  Sarah.  In  his 
will  he  gave  his  dwelling  house  after  the  decease  of  his  wife  to 
his  son  .Samuel ;  but  in  the  codicil  to  his  son  Henry.  He  also, 
named  his  son  Jonathan,  and  daughters  Mary,  Hannah,  Patience 
and  .Sarah. 

CJiildren  born  in  Plymouth. 

I.  John,  born  7th  June,  1632.  Removed  from  Barnstable  to 
Plymouth  and  from  thence,  according  to  Mr.  Baylies,  to 
Taunton,  and  returned  again  to  Plymouth  about  the  year 
1678.  He  married  twice,  fii-st  28th  Aug.  1658,  Martha 
Nelson  of  P.  Second,  June  13,  1676,  Jane  Woodward  of 
Taunton.  His  children  were  John,  born  24th  June,  1662, 
in  P.,  died  young.  Samuel,  Israel  and  Elizabeth,  the 
dates  of  whose  births  are  not  given,  probably  born  in 
Taunton.  John,  born  in  Taunton  31st  March  1678,  ac- 
cording to  the  return,  probably  1677  ;  Elisha,  in  Plymouth, 
3d,  April,  1678,  and  James,  20th  July,  1682.  Elisha  of 
this  family  probably  settled  in  Wellfleet,  and  had  Col. 
Elisha  and  Thomas.  Col.  Elisha  had  five  sons,  and  has 
descendants  in  the  lower  towns  of  this  County.  A  Thomas 
Cobb  married  Mary  Freeman  of  Eastham,  before  1719,  and 
probably  was  not  the  Thomas  above  named. 

II.  James,  born  14th  Jan'y,  1634.  (See  account  of  him  and 
his  family  below.) 

Children  born  in  Scituate. 

III.  Mary,  24th  March,  1637.  She  married  15th  Oct.  1657, 
Jonathan  Dunham  then  of  Barnstable  and  his  second  wife. 
His  first  wife  was  Mary,  daughter  of  Phillip  Delano,  whom 
he  married  29th  Nov.  1655.  He  removed  to  Middleboro', 
was  sometime  minister  to  the  Indians  at  the  islands  ;  but 
was  in  1694  ordained  at  Edgartown. 

IV.  Hannah,  5th  Oct.  1639,  married  9th  May,  1661,  Edward 
Lewis.  She  died  Jan'y  17,  1729-30,  aged  90  years,  3 
months,  12  daj'S. 

Children  born  in  Barnstable. 

V.  Patience,  bap'd  13th  March  1641-2,  married  Robert  Parker 
Aug.  1667,  his  second  wife.  After  his  death  in  1684,  she 
probably  married  Dea.  William  Crocker. 

VI.  G-ershom,  born  10,  bap'd  12th  Jan'y,  1644-5.  He  removed 
to  Middleboro',  where  he  was  constable  in  1671  and  on  the 
grand  jury  in  1674.  He  was  buried-  at  Swanzey  24th 
June,  1675,  having,  with  eight  others,  been  killed  that 
day  by  the  forces  of  Philip.  His  brother  John  adminis- 
tered on  his  estate,  which  was  divided  in  equal  proportions 
to  the  children  of  Mr.  Henry  Cobb  of  Barnstable,  only 
John,  the  older  son,  to  have  a  double  portion. 


172        GENEALOGICAL    NOTES    OF    BARNSTABLE    FAMILIES. 

VII.  Eleazer,  born  30th  March,  1648.  He  was  admitted  a 
townsman  Dec.  1678,  when  he  was  24,  indicating  that  he 
was  then  unmarried.  He  was  of  Barnstable  in  1703,  and 
as  he  had  only  12  1-2  shares  in  the  common  lands,  the 
presumption  is  that  he  was  not  then  a  householder.  It  does 
not  appear  that  he  had  a  family.  His  death  is  not  re- 
corded, and  the  settlement  of  his  estate  is  not  entered  on 
the  probate  records.  It  may  be,  but  is  not  probable,  that 
he  was  the  Eleazer  whom  Mr.  Pratt  says  settled  in  Hing- 
ham. 

VIII.  Mehitabel,  born  1st  Sept.  1751,  died  8th  March,  1652. 

IX.  Samuel,  born  Oct.  12,  1654.     (See  account  below.) 

X.  Sarah,  born  15  Jan'y,  1658,  died  Jan'y  25,  1658. 

XI.  Jonathan,  born  10th  April,  1660.     (See  account  below.) 

XII.  Sarah,  born  10th  March,  1662-3,  married  27th  Dec.  1686, 
Dea.  Samuel  Chipmau  of  Barnstable.  She  had  ten  chil- 
dren. Her  sons  Thomas,  Samuel,  John,  Seth  and  Barna- 
bas, were  men  who  held  a  high  rank  in  society.  The  late 
Chief  Justice  Nathaniel  Chipman,  L.  L.  D.,  was  her  grand- 
son.    She  died  Jan'y  8,  1742-3,  aged  nearly  80. 

XIII.  Henry,  born  3d  Sept.  1665,  inherited  the  paternal  mansion. 
He  was  married  by  Justice  Thacher,  10th  April  1690  to 
Lois  Hallet.  Oct.  9,  1715,  he  was  dismissed  from  the 
Barnstable,  to  the  church  in  Stonington,  Conn.  His  chil- 
dren born  in  Barnstable  were,  Gideon,  11th  April,  1691  ; 
Eunice,  18th  Sept.  1693  ;  Lois,  2d  March,  1696 ;  and 
Nathan,  bap'd  June  1, 1700.  Margaret  the  wife  of  Gideon 
of  this  family  was  admitted  July  31,  1726,  to  the  church 
in  Hampton,  Conn.     He  afterwards  removed  from  H. 

XIV.  Mehetabel,  born  15th  Feb.  1667. 

XV.  Experience,  born  11th  Sept.   1671. 

Neitlier  of  these  two  daughters  being  mentioned  in  the  will  of 
their  father,  the  presumption  is  they  died  young. 

Sergeant  James  Cobb,  son  of  Elder  Henry  Cobb,  born  in 
Plymouth,  January  14,  1634,  resided  in  Barnstable.  He  married. 
26th  Dec.  1663,  Sarah,  daughter  of  George  Lewis,  Sen'r.  He 
died  in  1695,  aged  61.  He  left  no  will.  His  estate  was  settled 
Feb.  1,  1695-6,  and  all  his  eleven  children  are  named.  His 
widow  Sarah  married  23d  Nov.  1698,  Jonathan  Sparrow  of  East- 
ham.  She  died  Feb.  11,  1735,  in  the  9 2d  year  of  her  age,  and 
was  buried  in  the  grave-yard  near  the  East  Church,  Barnstable. 
■  Children  born  in  Barnstable. 

I.  Mary,  24th  Nov.  1664,  married  May  31,  1687,  Capt.  Caleb 
Williamson  of  Barnstable.  The  family  removed  to  Hart- 
ford after  1700,  where  she  died  in  1737,  aged  73. 

II.  Sarah,  26th  Jan'y  1666,  married  27th  Dec.  1686,  Benjamin 
Hinckley  of  Barnstable.     She  had  ten  ohildi-en,   the  five 


GENEALOGICAL    NOTES    OF    BAilNSTABLE    FAMILIES.         173 

first  born  all  dying  young. 

III.  Patience,  12tli  Jan'y,  1668,  married  1694,  Jame^  Coleman, 
and  had  eight  children.  She  married  1,0th  Sept.  1715, 
Thomas  Lombard  of  Barnstable.  She  died  March  30, 
174:7,  aged  79  years.  Her  second  husband  w.a8  95  at  his 
death  May  30,  1761. 

IV.  Hannah,  28th  March  1671,  married  Joseph  Davis  March 
1695,  and  died  May  3,  1739,  aged  68.  She  left  a  family 
of  eight  children. 

V.  James,  8th  July,  1673.     (See  account  below.) 

VI.  G-ershom,  4th  August,  1675.     (See  account  below.) 

VII.  John,  20th  Dec.  1677,  Mr.  John  Cobb  as  he  is  called  on 
the  records,  married  25th  Dec.  1707,  Hannah  Lothrop. 
He  owned  the  house  now  the  residence  of  Mr.  David 
Bursley,  and  his  son  Ephraim  resided  there  within  the 
memory  of  persons  now  living.  His  children  were  Ephraim, 
born  5th  Dec.  1708.  He  married  Margaret  G-ardner  of 
Yarmouth,  Jan'y  7,  1729-30.  He  had  also  John  born  1st 
July,  1711,  died  March  1,  1713,  and  John  again  born  Oct. 

2,  1719,  who  died  May  25,   1736.      Mr.  John  Cobb  died 
Aug.  24,  1754,  aged  77  years,  aind  his  wife  Hannah  April 

3,  1747,  aged  66  years. 

VIII.  EUzabeth,  6th  Oct.  1680. 

IX.  Martha  6th  Feb.  1682. 

X.  Mercy,  9th  April,  1685. 

XI.  Thankful,  10th  June,  1687. 

The  fpm-  daughters  last  named  had  shares  in  the  estate  of 
their  father  at  the  settlement  made  in  1696.  Their  mother  married 
in  1698,  Jonathan  Sparrow,  Esq.,  of  Eastham,  and  these  daugh- 
ters probably  removed  to  that  town  with  her.  Mercy  was  May 
24,  1701,  a  witness  to  the  will  of  Mu-iam  Wing  of  Harwich.  At 
the  proof  of  the  will  Jan'y  8,  1702-3,  she  is  called  "now  Mercy 
Sparrow." 

Samuel  Cobb,  son  of  Elder  Henry  Cobb,  born  in  Barnstable 
12th  Oct.  1654,  was  a  farmer  and  resided  in  the  lower  part  of  the 
town,  and  built  a  house  on  the  six  acre  lot  that  was  his  father's  in 
the  new  commonfleld.  His  first  house  stood  on  the  south-east 
corner  of  the  land,  on  the  west  side  of  the  lane  leading  to  Indian 
lands.  He  soon  after  built  a  two  story  house,  a  little  farther  west 
on  the  same  spot  where  the  late  farmer  Joseph  Cobb's  house  stood. 
It  was  two  stories  and  constructed  in  the  style  common  in  those 
days.  It  was  taken  down  about  the  year  1805.  He  married  Dec. 
20,  1680  Elizabeth,  daughter  of  Richard  Taylor,  called  "tailor" 
to  distinguish  him  from  another  of  the  same  name.  He  died  Dec. 
27,  1727  aged  73,  and  his  wife  May  4,  1721  aged  66. 

Children  horn  in  Barnstable. 
I.  Sarah,    20th   Aug.    1681.      She   married   Feb.    4,    1701-2 


174        GENEALOGICAL    NOTES    OF    BARNSTABLE    FAMILIES. 

Benjamin  Bearse,  and  resided  at  Hyanuis  where  she  died 
Jan.  14,  1742,  and  is  buried  in  the  old.grave  yard  there. 

II.  Thomas,  born  1st  June  1683,  married  Rachel  Stone  of 
Sudbm-y,  Jan.  1,  1710,  and  had  eleven  children  born  in 
Barnstable,  namely :  1,  Abigail  29th  March  1711,  married 
Nathaniel  Sturgis  Feb.  20, 1734-5  ;  2,  Nathaniel,  15th  Oct. 
1713,  married  Susannah  Bacon  Dec.  14,  1738.  He  died 
Feb.  14,  1763,  aged  50.  His  cWldren  were  Thomas  Dec. 
1,  1739  ;  Oris  Nov.  9,  1741,  father  of  the  present  Lewis  ; 
Samuel  Nov.  30,  1744  ;  Susannah  Jan.  1,  1746-7  ;  Nathan- 
iel March  19,  1748-9,  died  Sept.  26,  1839  aged  90  ;  Sarah 
March  31,  1751.  3,  Elizabeth  14th  Feb.  1715,  married 
Jonathan  Lewis,  Jr.,  Oct.  13,  1737  ;  4,  Samuel  20th  March 
1717;  5,  Matthew  15th  April  1719,  married  Mary  Garret 
January  24,  1750-1,  and  had  Matthew,  a  merchant  at  Port- 
land and  a  man  of  wealth  and  considerable  distinction ; 
Daniel  engaged  in  trade  many  years  in  Barnstable,  and  the 
father  of  the  present  Matthew  Cobb,  Esq.,  and  others  ;  6, 
David  28th  Feb.  1721,  married  Thankful  Hinckley  Aug. 
12,  1745,  and  had  four  children,  died  May  23,  1757;  7, 
Henry  16th  April  1724,  married  Bethiah  Hinckley  Jan.  31, 
1753-4;  8,  Thomas  30th  April  1726,  died  Aug.  1726;  9, 
Ebenezer,  twin  brother  of  Thomas,  died  January  5,  1856, 
married  Mary  Smith,  had  5  daughters  ;  10,  Eunice,  bap't 
23d  Feb.  1728-9;  and  11,  Mary,  bap'd  Nov.  7,  1731. 
Thomas  Cobb  was  taxed  in  1737  for  £1000,  and  was  a  man 
of  wealth  for  the  times. 

III.  Elizabeth,  born  Nov.  1685,  married  25th  Nov.  1708  Eben- 
ezer Bearse.     She  died  15th  July  1711. 

IV.  Henry,  born  1687. 

V.  Samuel,  10th  Sept.  1691,  married  first  Sarah  Chase  of  Tis- 
bury,  Jan.  25,  1716,  and  in  1725  Hannah  Cole. 

VI.  Mehitable,  10th  Sept.  1691,  twin  sister  of  Samuel,  married 
30th  June  1715,  Nathan  Taylor. 

VII.  Experience,  8th  June  1692,  married  18th  Feb.  1713-4 
Jasher  Taylor  of  Yarmouth. 

VIII.  Jonathan,  25th  Dec.  1694,  married  Oct.  20,  1715,  Sarah 
Hopkins  of  Harwich.  The  records  of  his  family  are  incom- 
plete. He  had  Benjamin,  born  June  25,  1726,  married 
Bethia  Homer  of  Yarmouth,  and  was  afterwards  a  mer- 
chant of  Boston;  Samuel,  born  May  21,  1728;  Elkanah, 
born  Aug.  9,  1731  ;  Eleazer  born  Dec.  28,  1734,  married 
Kesiah,  daughter  of  Eleazer  Crosby  ;  and  Elizabeth  born 

April  30,  1738;  married Crosby.     Beside  the  above 

he  had  a  son  Jonathan,  who  married  Mary  Clark,  born 
about  1716,  who  was  the  father  of  Elijah, — Scotto,  1741, 
Isaac  1745,  John,  Seth,  Mary,  Sally,  Hannah,  Betsey  and 


GENEALOGICAL    NOTES    OF    BARNSTABLE    FAMILIES.         175 

Elkanah.  Scotto  above  named,  was  the  father  of  the  late 
Gen.  Elijah  Cobb,*  whose  son  Elijah,  a  merchant  of  Bos- 
ton, died  Aug.  1861. 

IX.  Eleazer,  born  14th  Jan.  1696,  married  Reliance  Paine  Oct. 
18,  1724.  He  occupied  the  house  built  by  his  father. 
He  died  Sept.  21,  1731  aged  35,  and  his  widow  married 
John  Coleman  Aug.  5,  1736.  She  continued  to  reside  on 
the  Cobb  farm  till  her  death,  June  11,  1742.  The  children 
of  Eleazer  Cobb  born  in  Barnstable  were,  Benjamin  Nov. 
20,  1725  ;  Joseph  28th  March,  1727,  died  11th  Oct.  1737 ; 
and  Reliance,  30th  Sept.  1728,  married  1747  Paul  Crowell, 
Jr.,  of  Chatham;  and  Patience,  bap't  15th  Aug.  1731, 
married  Nathaniel  Allen  of  Barnstable.  Benjamin,  the 
son  of  Eleazer,  married  May  29,  1749,  Anna  Davis,  and 
had  Reliance  May  9,  1750  ;  Eleazer,  Aug.  7,  1752  ;  Benja- 
min, Jan.  28,  1759,  married  Persis  Taylor  of  Barnstable, 
Nov.  13,  1783,  the  second  marriage  recorded  by  Rev.  Mr. 
Mellen.  He  had  one  son,  the  present  Enoch  T.  Cobb,  and 
a  daughter  Hannah  ;  Joseph,  February  19,  1763,  known  as 
farmer  Joseph,  married  June  19,  1785,  Elizabeth  Adams  ; 
and  Samuel  April  23,  1765,  the  latter  a  tanner  and  shoe 
maker. 

X.  Lydia,  born  Dec.  1699,  married  Ebenezer  Scudder,  1725, 
and  is  the  ancestor  of  nearly  if  not  all  of  the  name  in 
Barnstable. 

JonathanCobb,  son  of  Elder  Henry  Cobb, born  in  Barnstable 
10th  April  1660,  married  March  1,  1682-3,  Hope,  widow  of  John 
Huckings,  and  daughter  of  Elder  John  Chipman.  He  resided  in 
Barnstable  till  1703,  when  he  removed  to  Middleborough,  and 
from  thence  to  Falmouth,  now  Portland,  Me.  His  children  were, 
1,  Samuel,  born  23d  Feb.  1683-4;  Jonathan  26th  April,  1686; 
Ebenezer  10th  April  1688  ;  Joseph  24th  Aug.  1690  ;  Lydia  17th 
Jan.  1692-3  ;  Gershom  bap't  7th  July,  1695.  That  this  Jonathan 
was  not  the  one  who  removed  to  Harwich,  the  following  facts 
show.  His  son  Samuel  married  Abigail  and  had  at  Middleboro, 
Chipman  born  5th  March  1708-9,  and  probably  others ;  at  Port- 
land, Peter,  Feb.  1720,  and  at  Manchester,  James,  born  July  7, 
1723.  Jonathan,  son  of  Jonathan,  had  by  his  wife  Betty  at 
Portland  Lydia,  Aug.  9,  1720  ;  Ebenezer,  Feb.  19,  1722  ;  Mary, 
Nov.  8,  1723  ;  Deborah,  Aug.  14,  1725.  Ebenezer,  son  of  Jona- 
than, married  Mary.      He  died  at  Portland  Oct.  29,  1721,  aged 


*  I  have  a  genealogy  of  fhe  Cobb  family  based  on  the  recollections  of  Gen.  Cobb.  It 
seems  to  be  the  same  on  which  Mr.  Pratt  relied,  and  frhich  has  always  been  noticed.  Gen. 
Cobb's  information  respecting  his  great  grandfather  is  Ter^  imperfect,  and  of  the  preceed- 
ing  generations  mostly  if  not  entirely  suppositions.  It  is  certain  that  Gen.  Cobb  was  a 
descendent  of  Henry  of  Barnstable.  The  Truro  aud  "Wellfleet  families  probably  descend 
some  from  Elisha  of  Plymouth  and  some  from  James  Cobb  born  Sept.  13, 1698,  who  removed 
to  Tmro.  Elisha  Cobb,  bom  24th  Dec.  1702,  married  Mary,  Harding,  and  probably  removed 
to  Wellfleet,  and  Thomas,  son  of  Richard  of  Hingham  to  Eastham. 


176        GENEALOGICAL    NOTES    OF    BARNSTABLE    FAMILIES. 

33.  Chipman,  son  of  Samuel,  married  Elizabeth  and  had,  at 
Portland,  Nathan,  January  7,  1732  ;  and  Andrew,  March  27, 
1734. 

James  Cobb,  son  of  James  and  grandson  of  Elder  Henry 
Cobb,  born  8th  July,  1673,  resided  on  his  grandfather's  "great 
lot."  He  niarried  18th  Sept.  1695,  Elizabeth  Hallett.  She  died 
April  1, 1759,  aged  80.     Their  children  born  in  Barnstable  were  : 

I.  James,  born  13th  Sept.  1698,  he  married  Hannah  Rich  of 
Truro,  May  14,  1724,  and  had  1,  James,  June  16,  1725, 
died  Oct.  following  ;  2,  Elizabeth,  Saturday  Oct.  29,  1726  ; 
3,  Lois,  Friday  June  27,  1729  ;  4,  Isaac,  Tuesday  Dec.  21, 
1731;  5,  Ezekiel,  Saturday  Aug.  31,  1734;  6,  Hannah, 
Wednesday,  April  20,  1737  ;  7,  Dinah,  bap'd  June  1,  1740  ; 
8,  Deliverance,  bap'd  Sept.  19,  1742.  Hannah,  wife  of 
James  Cobb,  Jr.,  was  dismissed  from  the  church  in  Barn- 
stable to  the  church  in  Truro,  Jan'y  15,  1663-4,  and  pro- 
bably the  family  removed  to  that  town. 

II.  Sylvanus,  born  25th  Nov.  1700,  married  Mercy  Baker, 
Nov.  7,  1728.  He  died  Sept.  30,  1756,  aged  55.  His 
children  born  in  Barnstable  were,  1,  Mercy,  Oct.  13,  1729, 
married  James  Churchill,  Jan'y  10,  1751,  died  Sept.  25, 
1756;  2,  Ebenezer,  Aug.  13,  1731,  married  1754  Lydia 
Churchill  of  Middleboro',  and  had  .James  and  Ebenezer ; 
3,  Sylvanus,  Feb.  18,  1734-5,  died  May  10, 1737  ;  4,  Ben- 
nie,  Jan'y  23,  1736-7;  5,  Rebecca,  April  2,  1739,  died 
Aug.  17,  1756,  aged  17;  6,  Sylvanus,  July  21,  1741  ;  7, 
Thankful,  bap't  Sept.  25,  1743  ;  8,  Lydia,  bap'd  Jan'y  5, 
1745-6.  From  this  family  I  am  informed  that  Rev.  Syl- 
vanus Cobb  is  descended. 

III.  Elisha,  born  24th  Dec.  1702,  married  Mary  Harding,  of 
Trm-o,  Feb.  25,  1724-5. 

IV.  Jesse,  born  15th  April,  1704,  married  Thankful  Baker, 
Jan'y  1,  1733-4.  She  died  May  6,  1742,  and  he  died  Dec. 
1777,  aged  72.  His  children  born  in  Barnstable  were 
Joseph,  born  22d  Sept.  1734,  who  married  Desire  Lum- 
bard  and  had  Thankful  Nov.  14,  1757  ;  Remember-Mercy, 
Jan'y  13,  1760,  and  Joseph,  Aug.  18,  1762,  (the  father  of 
the  present  Mr.  James  Cobb).  The  daughters  Thankful 
and  Mercy  it  is  said  were  bewitched  when  young,  and 
marvelous  stories  are  related  of  them.  Jesse  Cobb  had 
also  Seth,  bap'd  Sept.  4,  1737,  removed  to  Sandwich ; 
Rowland,  bap'd  Oct.  15,  1738,  married  Thankful  Garret  of 
S.  ;  Nicholas,  bap'd  Feb.  10,  1739-40,  married  Ann  Perry 
had  Chloe  Blush  now  living,  aged  96,  and  others  ;  Nathan 
bap'd  Jan's  18,  1740-41.  Jesse  Cobb  was  an  illiterate 
man.  He  could  neither  read  or  write  ;  but  he  considered 
himself  a  great  poet  and  employed  an  amanuensis.     His 


GENEALOGICAL    NOTES    OF    UAHNSTABLE    FAMILIES.        177 

two  nearest  aeighbors,  John  Lewis,"  many  years  town 
school  master,  and  Solomon  Otis,  Esq.,  were  graduates  of 
Harvard  College.  John  Bacon,  Esq.,  and  Capt.  Samuel 
Bacon,  "gentlemen,"  were  also  his  neighbors,  and  he  thus 
had  the  advantage  of  daily  intercourse  with  literary  men. 
Jesse's  poetry  has  not  been  preserved.  Some  verses  are 
however  repeated  by  his  descendants.  The  extravagance 
of  the  times,  the  fashions,  and  the  ladies,  whom  he  did  not 
»  treat  with  much  courtesy,  where  his  favorite  themes.  The 
dogerel  rhymes  in  the  note*  are  e:^tracts  from  his  poem 
addressed  to  James  Paine,  Esq.,  who  kept  a  school  several 
years  in  Barnstable,  and  who,  dm-ing  his  leisure  hours, 
coui'ted  the  muses. 

V.  Seth,  born  loth  April,  1707. 

VI.  J:benezer,  born  7th  March,  1709,  died  Sept.  1710. 

VII.  Jude  (or  Judah),  born  -iith  June,  1711. 

VIII.  Nathan,  born,  loth  June,  1713,  married  Bethia  Harding  of 
Eastham,  1736. 

IX.  Stephen,  born  27th  Jan'y  1716,  married  July  8,  1742, 
Abigail  Chipman,  and  had  Mary,  Judah,  James,  Abigail, 
Stephen,  Chipman  and  Jacob. 

X.  Elizabeth,  born  18th  April,  1718,  married  March  10, 
1736-7,  David  Hawes  of  Yarmouth. 

Gershom  Cobb,  son  of  James  and  grand  son  of  Elder  Henry 
Cobb,  born  Aug.  4,  1675,  married  Hannah  Davis,  24th  Feb., 
1702-3 

His  house  stood  near  the  centre  of  Elder  Cobb's  great  lot. 
Some  ancient  pear  trees  now  mark  the  spot.  Elder  Cobb  proba- 
bly built  a  house  there,  afterwards  owned  by  his  son  James.  His 
children  born  in  Barnstable  were  : 

I.  John,  22d  May,  1704,  died  April  1706. 

II.  Sarah,  27th  Oct.  1705,  married  Nath'l  Bacon,  1726. 

III.  Gershom,  15th  Nov.  1707,  married  April  20,  1732,  Miss 
Sarah  Baxter  of  Yarmouth,  and  died  the  same  year  leaving 
a  son  Gershom,  who  married  Feb.  6,  1751-2,  Mehitebel, 
daughter  of  Job  Davis.     He  died  in    1758  leaving  three 


*  "Christ,  he  was  a  carpenter  by  trade, 
Aud  he  the  doors  of  Hearen  made. 
And  he  did  swear 

That  high  crowned  caps  and  plaited  hair 
Sliould  never  have  admittance  there." 
A  fashion  prevailed  among  the  ladies  in  Jesse's  time  of  weai-ing  the  hair  combed  aud 
plaited  over  a  cushion  resting  on  the  top  of  the  head-    This  was  surmounted  with  a  high 
crowned  cap. 

The  following  is  the  closing  stanza  and  is  particularly  addressed  to  Mr.  Paine  who  was 
the  champion  of  the  ladies  : 

"He  who  for  a  pls'treen  twice  told,  I 

Will  labor  for  a  week  in  school, 
Can  offer  nothing  veiy  great, 
So  here  is  alll  shall  relate." 
In  another  stanza  Jpsse   commends  fo  Mr.  Paine  the  perusal  of  the  third  chapter  of 
I^iiiah. 


178        GENEALOGICAL    NOTES    OF    BARNSTABLE    FAMILIES. 

sons,  bap'd  Nov.  25,  1759,  named  Edward,  (born  Nov.  6, 
1752)  G-ershom  and  Josiah.  Gershom  the  father  was  a 
very  honest,  upright  man,  a  weaver.  In  the  summer 
months  he  was  employed  in  the  fishing  business,  and  the 
remainder  of  the  year  in  weaving,  &c.  His  widow  in  1776 
married  Nathaniel  Lothrop,  his  second  wife,  and  she  had 
by  him  a  daughter  Susan,  who  married  Eleazer  Cobb,  Jr. 
She  died  in  1812  or  13,  aged  about  80.  Her  son  Edward 
was  a  carpenter,  married  Jan'y  29,  1778,  Hannah  Hallett  of 
Yarmouth,  removed  in  1782  to  Westborough,  where  he  died 
Oct.  27,  1819.  He  had  ten  children.  Gershom  was  a 
mariner  and  taken  a  prisoner  by  the  English  during  the 
Revolution.  He  returned  to  Barnstable  about  the  year 
1793,  and  it  is  said  that  he  returned  to  England  married 
and^had  two  children  there.  Josiah  went  to  Boston  to 
learn  a  shoemaker's  trade,  but  disliking  the  trade  left.  It 
is  supposed  that  he  was  lost  at  sea.* 

IV.  John,  born  17th  Nov.  1709.     Removed  to  Plymouth. 

V.  Hannah,  29th  Aug.   1711,  married  Jan'y  29,  1734,  David 
Childs  of  Barnstable. 

VI.  Thankful,  10th  July,  1714,  married  Oct.  14,    1746,  David 
Dimmock. 

VII.  Anne,  8th  Dec.  1716,  died  4th  Nov.  1720. 

VIII.  Josiah,  twin  brother  of  Anne. 

IX.  Edward,  2d  Nov.  1718. 

X.  Mary,  14th  June,  1721,  married  first,  Isaac  Gorham,  Sept. 
2,  1742,  and  second,  James  Churchill,  Feb.  3,  1756-7. 

Jesse  Cobb  was  a  loyalist  or  tory.  He  was  one  of  the  party 
who  assembled  on  the  evening  of  the  night  when  the  liberty  pole 
in  Barnstable  was  cut  down.  Jesse  was  called  on  by  the  company 
to  compose  a  notice  to  be  posted  up,  and  he  dictated  the  following, 
impromptu : 

Your  Liberty  pole, 
I  dare  be  bold, 
Appears  like  Dagon  bright. 
But  it  will  faU, 
And  make  a  scrawl. 
Before  the  morning  light. 
Jesse  was  seventy  years  of  age  when  he  dictated  the  above, 
and  it  indicates  that  he  was  ready,  and  possessed  more  wit  than 
we  have  given  him  credit  for.     The  Liberty  pole  stood  in  front  of 
the  public  house  of  Mrs.  Abiah  Crocker,  where  the  willow  tree 
now  stands.     It  stood  on  a  knowl  or  small  hill  there  which  has 

*The  account  of  the  family  of  Gershsom  Cobb  I  obtain  from  tbe  records,  a  manuscript 
of  one  of  the  descendants,  and  other  sources.  Respecting  the  third  Gershom  (son  of  Ger- 
shom and  Sarah)  I  rely  on  the  manuscript  which  seems  to  be  corroborated  by  the  Pi-obate 
records.  Gershom  Cobb,  Jr.'s  inventory  is  dated  Jan'y  23, 1733,  showing  that  he  died  soon 
after  his  maiTiage. 


GENEALOGICAL    NOTES    OF    BARNSTABLE    FAMILIES.         179 

since  been  leveled.  The  pole  was  very  tall,  and  surmounted  with 
a  gilt  ball,  to  which-  allusion  is  made  by  Mr.  Cobb.  During  the 
night  the  pole  was  cut  down  and  fell  across  the  road.  Who  cut 
it  down  has  never  been  satisfactorily  ascertained.  I  persume  it 
would  have  been  difficult  for  Jesse  Cobb,  Samuel  Crocker  and 
Otis  Loring,  to  have  proved  that  they  were  not  present. 


CLAGHORN, 


.TAMES    CLAGI-IOEN. 

James  Claghorn  was  not  one  of  the  first  settlers.  He  was  of 
Barnstable  in  1654,  and  took  the  oath  of  fidelity  in  1657.  He 
removed  to  Yarmouth  about  the  year  1662,  when  his  wife  com- 
mitted suicide  Oct.  1677,  by  hanging  herself  in  the  chamber  of 
her  house.  This  is  the  first  suicide  on  record  in  this  part  of  the 
Colony. 

James  Claghorn  married  6th  January,  1654,  Abigail,  sometimes 
written  Abia,  probably  a  daughter  of  Barnard  Lombard,  though  she 
may  have  been  a  sister.     His  children  bom  in  Barnstable  were  : 
I.      James,  29th  January  1654.     He  probably  died  early.     Mr. 

Savage  was  led  into  a  mistake  by  a  typographical  error  in  the 

Genealogical   Register   of    1856,   page   348,  where   Jane   is 

printed  James. 
n.    Mary,   born    26th  October,  1655,  married   March    28,  1682, 

Joseph  Davis,  had  four  children,  died  1706. 
HI.  Elizabeth,  April  1658. 

IV.  Sarah,  3d  January,  1659. 

V.  Robert,  27th  Oct.  1661. 

VI.  Shubael.     Birth  not  recorded. 

Robert  Claghorn,  son  of  James,  married  6th  November, 
1701,  Bethia,  widow  of  Nathaniel  Lothrop.  By  her  first  husband 
she  had  John  and  Hannah.  She  died,  say  the  church  records, 
'last  end  of  October,  1731,  aged  about  60.'  Robert  Claghorn's 
estate  was  settled  22d  Aug.  1715,  and  his  widow  Bethia,  sons 
Joseph,  Nathaniel  and  Samuel,  and  only  daughter  Abia  are 
named.  He  owned  7  1-2  acres  of  land  in  the  common  field,  a  lot 
in  the  neck  below  Joshua  Lumbard's,  and  lands  bought  of  the 
heirs  of  Joseph  Davis  at  South  Sea,  shares  in  the  common  lands, 
and  about  £300  in  money.  No  house  is  named  in  the  settlement. 
He  administered  on  the  estate  of  his  sister  Mary,  and  probably 
resided  at  her  house  at  the  time  of  his  death.  In  1702  he  owned 
a  part  of  the  Lumbert  farm,  and  had  a  house  at  the  east  end  of 
the  pond  and  for  that  reason  it  is  sometimes  called  in  the  records 


GENEALOGICAL    NOTES    OF    BARNSTABLE    FAMILIES.        181 

Claghorn's  instead  of  Lumtaert's  pond.  This  estate  he  sold  to  a 
Crocker,  and  it  afterwards  was  bought  by  the  Lothrops.  Respect- 
ing Robert  Claghorn  I  have  little  information.  He  appears  to 
have  been  a  very  worthy  man. 

Children  of  Robert  Clagliorv. 

I.  Abia,  born  Aug.  13,  1702.  She  did  not  marry,  was  admitted 
a  member  of  the  East  Church  Nov.  3,  1745,  and  died  Feb. 
4,  1763. 

II.  Joseph,  born  Aug.  25,'  1704. 

III.  Nathaniel,  born  Nov.  10,  1707. 

IV.  Samuel,  June  23,  1709.  In  the  division  of  his  father's  es- 
tate, the  lands  bought  of  the  heirs  of  Joseph  Davis  at 
Chequaquet  were  set  off  to  him.  He  married  September  11, 
1742,  Hannah,  probably  daughter  of  .Job  Hinckley,  and  had 
a  son  Nathaniel,  April  29,  1743. 

Shubael  Claghorn,  a  son  of  James,  married  Jane,  daughter 
of  .John  Lovell.  He  died  before  1729,  when  his  widow  married 
John  Bumpas  of  Rochester. 

# 
Children  born  in  Barnstable. 

I.  James,  August  1689.  By  his  wife  Experience  he  had,  at 
Rochester,  Lemual  June  10,  1713,  and  Mary  April  12,  1715. 
He  afterwards,  in  1736,  married  Elizabeth  King  of  Kingston. 
His  wife  died  in  Barnstable,  Dec.  25,  1774,  aged  66. 

II.  Thankful,  30th  January,  1660-1,  died  January,  1696. 

III.  Thomas,  20th  March  1692-3.  A  Thomas  Claghorn  of  Ed- 
gartown  had  a  daughter  Hannah  baptized  at  the  West 
Church  July  17,  1756. 

IV.  Shubael,  26th  September,  1696. 

V.  Robert,  18th  July,  1699.  He  married  January  16,  1722-3 
Thankful  Coleman.  He  died  July  11,  1750,  aged  50,  and 
his  widow  April  1770,  aged  70.  He  had  :  1,  James,  Dec.  8, 
1723,  married  1747,  Temperance  Gorham,  removed  to  Salis- 
bury, returned  in  1770;  2,  Nehemiah,  Jan.  30,  1725-6; 
3,  Eunice,  May  4,  1728  ;  4,  Benjamin,  Dec.  17,  1733  ;  5, 
Jabez,  May  9,  1736,  married  Nov.  10,  1780,  Eunice  Davis, 
died  June  10,  1821,  aged  85. 

VI.  Benjamin,  14th  June,  1701. 

VII.  Reuben,  baptized  28th  April,  1706,  married  1733,  Eleanor 
Lovell  and  had  :  '  ,  Jane,  April  12,  1733  ;  2,  Nathaniel,  22d 
Aug.  1736  ;  3,  Seth,  Nov.  1,  1737  ;  4,  Joanna,  January  12, 
1742 ;  Lois,  Feb.  8,  1747.  His  autograph  signature  is 
affixed  to  a  paper  in  the  Probate  Office.     It  is  the  best  exe- 


182        GENEALOGICAL    NOTES    OF    BARNSTABLE    FAMILIES. 

cuted  signature  that  I  have  seen  in  that  office.* 

VIII.  Mary,  baptized  3d  Aug.,  1707,  mamed  1729,  Eben  Clark  of 
Rochester. 

IX.  Jane,  baptized  31st  July  1709,  married  Joshua  Lumbert,  Jr., 
1755. 

X.  Ebeneazer,  30th  July,  1712,  married  Oct.  30,  1734,  Sarah 
Lumbert.  She  died.  He  married  Sept.  7,  1763,  Elizabeth 
Hamblin— had  Joseph,  Oct.  9,  1743  ;  Sarah,  July  27,  1764  ; 
Jane,  Oct.  1,  1765,  married  Job  Childs,  Nov.  24,  1785. 


*Note. — Some  would  perhaps  give  precedence  to  the  signature  of  Hon.  Barnabas  Lo- 
throp  or  Col.  William  Bassett.  Specimens  of  the  chirogrophy  of  Mr.  liOthrop  are  preserved. 
The  form  of  his  letters  resemble  the  Old  English  black  letter  type.  He  was  not  a  rapid 
writer,  and  evidently  took  much  pains.  Col.  Bassett  was  a  rapid  penman,  wrote  a  fine  run- 
ning liand,  yet  distinct  and  easily  read.  Of  the  early  settlers,  Rev.  Joseph  Lord  of  Chat- 
ham was  the  best  penman.  He  wrote  a  splendid  hand.  I  have  a  volume  of  his  manuscript 
written  as  compactly  as  a  printed  page  yet  perfectly  distinct.  Joseph  Lothrop,  Esq.,  the 
first  Register  of  Probate,  wrote  .1  very  neat  hand.  Anthony  Thatcher  and  his  son.  Col. 
John,  were  excellent  Clerks.  In  the  Gorham  family  were  many  who  wrote  good  hands. 
There  is  a  remarkable  similarity  in  the  signatures  of  the  successive  John  Gorhams,  so 

treat  that  it  requires  a  practised  eye  to  distinguish  them.    William,  son  of  Col.  David  Gor- 
am,  wrote  a  splendid  hand  for  records. 


CHILD. 


RICHAKD    CHILD. 

The  earliest  notice  I  find  of  Eichard  Child  is  in  Mr.  Lothrop's 
Church  records.  It  is  there  recorded  that  "Richard  Childe  and 
Mary  Linnett  marryed  the  15th  day  of  October,  1649,  by  Mr. 
Collier  at  my  Brother  Linnett's  house." 

I  find  no  record  of  his  children  ;  but  it  appears  that  he  had  a 
family,  for  March  5,  1660,  he  was  ordered  by  the  Court  to  desist 
from  erecting  a  cottage  within  the  bounds  of  Yarmouth,  the  put- 
ting up  of  such  buildings  being  contrary  to  law. — He  afterwards 
gave  security  to  save  harmless  the  town  of  Yarmouth  from  all 
charges  on  account  of  the  children  he  then  had,  and  he  was  there- 
upon permitted  "to  enjoy  his  cottage."* 

It  thus  appears  that  Richard  Childs  had  a  family,  Samuel  and 
Richard  Childs  of  Barnstable  were  probably  his  children.  Sam- 
uel was  killed  at  Rehobeth  battle  March  25th,  1675. — There  was 
a  Richard  Child  in  Marshfleld  in  1665,  perhaps  the  same  who  had 
been  of  Barnstable  and  Yarmouth.  He  there  built  him  a  house 
and  married,  and  had  a  family.  Richard  Child  of  Watertown, 
born  in  1631,  was  another  man.  He  married  March  30,  1662, 
Mehitable  Dimmock,  a  daughter  of  Elder  Thomas  of  Barnstable. 
His  daughter  Abigail  married  Joseph  Lothrop  of  Barnstable,  and 
Hannah,  Joseph  Blush. 

I  find  no  positive  evidence  that  Dea.  Richard  Child,  from 
whom  all  the  Barnstable  families  of  the  name  descend  was  a  son 
of  the  Richard  who  married  Mary  Linnell ;  but  there  is  little  reason, 
to  doubt  that  such  was  the  fact. 

*In  the  account  of  Richard  Berry  I  stated  that  he  was  forbidden  to  erect  a  cottage  in 
Yarmouth.  That  was  a  mistake,  it  was  Eichard  Child  that  was  so  forbidden.  The  prac- 
tice which  prevailed  in  early  colonial  times,  of  warning  strangers  out  of  town  and  forbid- 
ding them  to  build  houses  or  settle  in  a  towTi  without  a  license  was  sanctioned  by  law.  The 
case  of  Richard  Child  is  not  a  solitary  one.  Men  of  good  standing  who  were  strangers 
were  often  warned  out  of  town.  The  law  may  seem  harsh  and  tyramcal ;  but  reasons  then 
existed  which  have  now  passed  away.  If  Richard  Child  had  been  allowed  to  build  in  Yar- 
mouth without  protest,  he  would  have  been  entitled  to  a  personal  right  in  the  common  lands 
and  a  tenement  right  amounting  in  Yarmouth  to  16  1-2  shares  out  of  the  3,118  into  which 
the  to\vn  was  divided ;  and  if  unfortunate,  the  town  would  be  liable  for  the  supplies  of  his 
family.  A  protest  not  only  saved  the  town  harmless  ;  but  prevented  the  person  moving 
in  fi*om  claiming  the  rights  of  a  proprietor. 


184        GENEALOGICAL    NOTES    OF    BARNSTABLE    FAMILIES. 

The  name  is  written  Childe,  Child,  Chiles  and  Childs  on  the 
records.  The  true  orthography  is  Child  ;  but  all  the  descendants 
of  Richard,  resident  in  Barnstable,  write  the  'name  with  a  final  s. 

Dea.  Richard  Child,  probably  a  son  of  the  first  Richard  of 
Barnstable,  resided  in  the  westerly  part  of  the  East  Parish,  on  the 
estate  owned  by  the  late  Mr.  John  Dexter,  deceased.  He  had  a 
shop,  which  indicates  that  he  was  a  mechanic.  He  was  admitted 
to  the  church  May  4,  1684,  and  ordained  a  deacon  Sept.  4,  1706. 
He  married  in  1678,  Elizabeth,  daughter  of  John  Crocker.  She 
died  January  15,  1696,  and  he  married,  second,  Hannah . 

Children  born  in  Barnstable. 

I.  Samuel,  born  6th  Nov.  1679. 

II.  Elizabeth,  born  23d  Jan.  1681-2,  died  five  weeks  after, 

III.  Thomas,  born  10th  January,  1682-3.  See  account  of  fami- 
ly below. 

IV.  Hannah,  22d  January,  1684.  The  Hannah  Child  who  mar- 
ried 30th  July,  1702,  Joseph  Blush  of  Barnstable,  was  as 
above   stated   a  daughter   of  Richard  Child  of  Watertown. 

V.  Timothy  born  22d  Sept.  1686. 

VI.  Dea.  Ebenezer,  born,  says  the  town  record,  "March,  latter 
end,  1691,  as  I  think."  He  died  January  17,  1756,  N.  S., 
in  the  66th  year  of  his  age,  and  was  buried  at  West  Barn- 
stable. He  married  in  1719  Hope,  and  had,  1,  Elizabeth, 
18th  July,  1720,  died  18th  Sept.  1720;  2,  Ebenezer,  10th 
April,  1723  ;  3,  Richard,  baptized  1st  Aug.  1725  ;  4,  Mary, 
baptized  3d  Sept.,  1727,  died  June  15,  1762  aged  35  ;  and 
Mercy,  baptized  4th  January,  1730.  The  .three  last  named 
are  not  on  the  town  records.  Ebenezer  Child,  Jr.,  son  of 
Dea.  Ebenezer,  married  January  15,  1745,  Hannah  Crocker. 
She  died  Feb.  23,  1755,  aged  37,  and  he  married  in  1756, 
Abigail  Freeman.  His  children  were,  1,  Ebenezer,  born 
Nov.  3,  1747,  baptized  at  the  West  Church,  Nov.  8,  1747  ; 
2,  Josiah,  Aug.  8,  1749  ;  3,  Hannah,  Sept.  10,  1751 ;  4, 
David,  March  2,  1754;  5,  by  his  second  wife,  Jonathan, 
May  13,  1757  ;  6,  Abigail,  Dec.  26,  1758  ;  7,  Hope,  Janu- 
ary 21,  1761 ;  and  Mary,  baptized  April  10,  1763. 

VII.  Elizabeth,  born  6th  June,  1692. 

VIII.  James,  born  6th  November,  1694.  See  account  of  his 
family  below. 

IX.  Mercy,  born  7th  May,  1697. 

X.  Joseph,  born  5th  March,  1699-10,  married  April  23,  1724, 
Deliverance  Hamblin.  He  was  admitted  to  the  West 
Church  Aug.  18,  1728,  removed  to  Falmouth  and  returned 
to  Barnstable  in  1747.  The  names  of  only  two  of  his  chil- 
dren were  on  the  town  records.  His  children  were,  1, 
Joseph,  born  17th  Aug.   1724;  married  Meribah  Dexter  of 


GENEALOGICAL   NOTES    OF    BARNSTABLE    FAMILIES.        185 

Rochester;  2,  Benjamin,  baptized  25th  Aug.  1728,  married 
Mehitable  Hamtalin,  1652,  and  had  Lewis,  Aug.  29,  1782  ; 
Hannah,  Sept.  6,  1754 ;  and  Mehitable,  Dec.  27,  1756. 
He  died  before  June  10,  1758,  when  his  three  children  were 
baptized  at  the  West  Church.  3,  Elizabeth,  daughter  of 
Joseph,  was  baptized  24th  August  1729  ;  4,  Ruth,  baptized 
26th  Sept.  1731,  married  21st  May,  1747,  Reuben  Blush ;  5, 
James,  born  4th  March,  1742  ;  and  Abigail,  baptized  29th 
July  1750.  Deliverance  Childs  who  married  March  3,  1757, 
Daniel  Hamblin,  was  probably  a  daughter  of  Joseph  born  in 
Falmouth. 
Thomas  ChUds,  son  of  Richard,  born  10th  January,  1682, 
resided  in  the  East  Parish  where  he  died,  April  11,  1770,  aged 

88.     He   married  in    1710,  Mary .     Of    his   family   only 

David  appears  to  have  remained  in  Barnstable. 

Children  of  Thomas  Childs  born  in  Barnstable. 

I.        David,  born  July  20,  1711.     See  account  below. 

n.      Jonathan,  Nov.  27,  1713. 

HI.  Silas,  March  10,  1715.  Silas  removed  to  Rhode  Island, 
and  it  is  said  settled  in  Warren.  He  has  many  descend- 
ants. 

IV.  Hannah,  born  July  29,  1720,  married  Prince  Taylor  of 
Lebanon,  Conn.,  March  6,  1748. 

V.  Thomas,  Sept.  10,  1725. 

VI.  Benjamin,  Dec.  4,  1727,  married  Rebecca,  daughter  of 
Stephen  Davis  of  B.,  removed  to  Portland,  had  Thomas 
Sept.  25,  1752  ;  Isaac,  Feb.  10,  1755  ;  and  Rebecca,  March 
9,  1769.  He  and  his  three  children  died  early,  and  his 
widow  gave  her  estate  to  her  brothers  and  sisters  in  Barn- 
stable. 

VII.  Mary,  born  April  1,  1733. 

James  Childs,  son  of  Richard,  born  6th  Nov.  1694,  married 
Sept.  27,  1722,  Elizabeth,  daughter  of  Samuel  Crocker.  He  died 
Nov.  2,  1779,  aged  85. 

Children  born  in  Barnstable. 

I.  Samuel,  July  15,  1723,  married  Feb.  20,  1752,  Mary 
daughter  of  Thos.  Hinckley,  and  had  1,  Samuel,  July  7, 
1753  ;  Elijah,  baptized  Oct.  21,  1764  ;  and  Ebenezer,  Jan. 
18,  1766 ;  Elijah  and  Ebenezer  of  this  family,  owned  the 
ancient  house  on  the  farm  which  was  Dea.  Cooper's  at  the 
settlement  of  the  town.  Ebenezer  did  not  marry  and  his 
half  of  the  house  was  sold  to  John  Dexter.  Elijah,  mar- 
ried Nov.  10,  1785,  Mary  Gorham,  and  was  the  father  of 
the  present  Dea.  Samuel  Childs  and  other  children.  He 
was  many  years  master  of  the  Barnstable  and  Boston 
packet  sloop  Romeo. 


186       GENKALOGICAL   NOTES    OF   BARNSTABLE    FAMILIES. 

II.  James,  born  April  22,  1725,  married  June  5,  1755,  Mary, 
daughter  of  David  Parker,  Esq.,  and  had  Elizabeth,  born 
May  6,  1756;  Daniel,  baptized  Aug.  10,  1760;  Mary, 
baptized  Feb.  15,  1761  ;  Sarah,  baptized  Dec.  30,  1764, 
and  James,  baptized  May  24,  1767. 

III.  Elizabeth,  born  Dec.  20,  1730,  married  May  19,  1748, 
Daniel  Crocker. 

IV.  Sarah,  born  April  9,  1736,  married  May  2,  1754,  Jonathan 
Crocker. 

V.  Thankful,  born  Aug.  4,  1741,  married  Joseph  Lawrence  of 
Sandwich,  March  27,  1760. 

VI.  Richard,  born  March  22,  1743-4.  He  inherited  the  estate 
which  was  his  father's  and  grandfather's.  He  did  not 
marry.  He  had  a  large  wen  on  one  of  his  ankles,  which  in 
the  latter  part  of  his  life  nearly  disabled  him  from  walking. 
He  gave  his  estate  to  John  Dexter,  on  the  condition  that 
he  should  support  him  for  life.  He  died  suddenly  in  1805, 
aged  about  61. 

David  Childs,  a  son  of  Thomas,  born  July  20,  1711,  married 
Jan.  29,  1734  by  John  Thacher,  Esq.,  to  Hannah,  daughter  of 
Gersham  Cobb.     His  children  born  in  Barnstable  were  : 

I.  David,  Feb.  7,  1735-6,  married  April  4,  1758,  Hannah, 
daughter  of  Job  Davis,  and  had  1,  Susannah,  July  30, 
1762,  married  Joseph  Cobb,  Sept.   30,  1784;  2,  Asenath, 

Sept.   22,    1765,    married   1st,    Josiah   Clark,    2d, 

Wild,  and  lived  in  Boston;  3,  Job,  Sept.  8,  1767,  married 
Jane  Claghorn,  24th  Nov.  1785;  4,  Hannah,  Nov.  17, 
1769,  married  4th  April,  1788,  Josiah  Gorham ;  5,  Anna, 
Nov.  1741,  died  unmarried,  had  Polly  AUyn  ;  6,  Josiah, 
Dec.  14,  1773,  married  and  then  removed  to  Westborough 
and  thence  to  Boston ;  7,  David,  July  8,  1775  ;  8,  Shubael 

Davis,  Dec.   16,  1777,  married ,  died   suddenly   in 

Chelsea;  9,  Benjamin,  Aug.  11,  1779,  died  a  young  man, 
in  Georgia;    and  10,  Edward,   March    9,   1783,   married 

thrice,  1,  Jane  Goodeno,  2,  Cynthia  Goodeno,  3,  , 

died  in  Boston. 

II.  Jonathan,  Dec.  25,  1737,  married  Thankful  Howland, 
March  19,  1787,  removed  to  Sandwich. 

III.  Anna,  Aug.  18,  1742,  died  unmarried. 

IV.  Asenath,  Feb.  28,  1738-40,  married Linnell. 

V.  Josiah,  Sept.  7,  1745,  married  1st,  Temperance,  daughter 
of  George  Lewis.  She  died  soon  after  marriage,  of  con- 
sumption, and  he  married  2d,  Abigail,  daughter  of  Nathan- 
iel Sturgis.  He  was  with  his  uncle,  Capt.  James  Churchill, 
in  the  French  War,  and  during  the  Revolution,  was  one  of 
the  Home  Guard,  detailed  for  the  defence  of  the  coast. 
He  was  entitled  to  a  pension,  but  did  not  obtain  it.     He 


GENEALOGICAL    NOTES    OF    BARNSTABLE    FAMILIES.        187 

was  employed  fifteen  winters  in  trading  voyages  to  the 
Carolinas'. 
VI.       Edward,  Sept.   13,  1749,  married  Mary,  daughter  of  Seth 
Lothrop.     He  was  employed  many  years  by  the  eccentric 
Dr.  Abner  Hersey,  and  as  a  reward  for  his  faithful  ser- 
vices, the  Dr.  in  one  of  his  early  wills,  gave  him  £100. 
The  Dr.  inquired  of  Edward  what  disposition  he  intended 
to   make   of   the   bequest.     "Fit   out  my   daughters   and 
marry  them  off,"  was  the  inconsiderate  reply.     The   Dr. 
could  not  tolerate  even  neatness  in  dress,  was  indignant  at 
the  reply,  altered  his  will,  and  Edward  lost  the  money. 
Josiah  and  Edward  bought  the  small  estate  of  John  Logge, 
(a  part  of  Elder  Cobb's  great  lot) ,  which  they  divided,  and  each 
had  a  house  thereon.     Both  were  coopers  and  small  farmers,  and 
displayed  more  taste  for  horticultural  and  florticultural  pursuits 
than  was  common  in  those  days.     Both,  in  early  life,  went  on 
feather  voyages,  a  term  which  few,  at  the  present  time,  will  under- 
stand.    About  a  century  ago,  vessels  were  fitted  out  for  the  coast 
of  Labrador  to  collect  feathers  and  eider  down.     At   a   certain 
season  of  the  year  some  species  of  wild  fowl  shed  a  part  of  their 
wing  feathers,  and  either  cannot  fly,  or  only  for  a  short  distance. 
On  some  of  the  barren  islands  on  that  coast,  thousands  of  those 
birds  congregated.     The  crews  of  the  vessels  would  drive  them 
together,  kill  them  with  a  short  club  or  a  broom  made  of  spruce 
branches,  and  strip  off  their  feathers.     Millions  of  wild  fowl  were 
thus  destroyed,  and  in  a  few  years,  their  haunts  were  broken  up 
by  this  wholesale  slaughter,  and  their  numbers  so  greatly  dimin- 
ished that  feather  voyages  became   unpi'ofitable    and   were   dis- 
continued. 

For  fourteen  years  subsequent  to  1800  these  brothers  were 
oftener  seen  together  than  seperate.  Every  week  day  at  11  and 
4  o'clock  they  visited  the  groceries  with  a  degree  of  punctuality  which 
all  noticed.  Housewives  that  had  no  time-pieces,  when  they  saw 
them,  would  say.  Uncle  Ned  and  Siah  (as  they  were  familiarly 
called)  have  passed,  and  it  is  time  to  set  the  table.  At  the  close 
of  his  life,  Edward  became  estranged  from  his  brother  and  would 
liave  no  intercourse  whatever  with  him.  This  was  a  great  afflic- 
tion to  Josiah,  and  no  efforts  or  concessions  he  could  make 
effected  a  reconciliation.  Edward  had  some  eccentricities.  Per- 
haps his  long  and  familiar  intercourse  with  Dr.  Hersey  had  in- 
fused that  trait  into  his  character.  His  feelings  were  strong,  and 
when  he  took  a  dislike  he  was  not  easily  reconciled.  Josiah  was 
a  different  man  in  this  respect.  He  harbored  no  prejudices 
against  any  one.  He  was  a  kind  hearted  man,  and  a  good  neigh- 
bor. When  young  he  took  an  interest  in  the  history  of  the  early 
settlements,  and  remembered  many  things  that  his  grandfather  had 
said  to  him.      He  stated  that   all  the  families  of  the  name  of 


188       GENEALOGICAL   NOTES   OF   BARNSTABLE    FAMILIES. 

Childs,  in  Barnstable,  were  descendants  of  the  first  Richard, 
which  is  probably  the  fact.  He  survived  his  brother,  dying  at  an 
advanced  age. 


COGGIN. 


Four  of  this  uame  came  to  New  England.  John,  Sen'r,  of 
Boston,  said  to  have  been  the  first  who  opened  a  store  for  the  sale 
of  goods  in  that  city,  was  a  ship-owner,  and  a  man  of  wealth  ;  he 
died  in  1658;  John  Jr.,  of  Boston,  son  of  Humphrey,  and  a 
nephew  of  John,  Sen'r.,  died  in  1674;  Thomas  was  of  Taunton 
in  1643,  died  March  4,  1653  ;  Henry  Coggin  was  of  Boston  in 
1634,  afterwards  of  Scituate,  and  removed  with  the  first  settlers 
to  Barnstable  in  1639.  July  1  1634,  three  cases,  in  one  of  which 
Henry,  and  in  another,  John  Coggin  was  a  party,  were  referred  lo 
Gov.  Winthrop  and  three  others  for  adjustment  and  settlement. 
The  matters  in  dispute  are  not  fully  stated ;  but  appear  to  have 
been  connected  with  the  settlement  of  a  ship's  voyage,  in  which 
Hem-y  and  John  probably  had  an  interest. 

Dec.  4,  1638,  William  Andrews  was  convicted  of  making  an 
assault  on  Mr.  Henry  Coggin,  striking  him  several  blows  and 
conspiring  against  his  life.  Andrews,  as  a  part  of  his  punishment 
was  committed,  or  sold  into  slavery  ;  but  on  the  3d  of  September 
following,  he  was  released,  he  promising  to  pay  Mr.  Henry  Coggin 
eight  pounds. 

Feb.  13, 1639-40,  Mr.  Henry  Coggin  assigned  for  50  shillings 
sterling,  and  20  bushels  of  Indian  Corn,  paid  by  Manaseth 
Kempton,  of  Plymouth,  the  services  of  Ms  servant  James  Glass,* 
for  the  term  of  five  years,  from  June  14,  1640. 

Oct.  14,  1643,  he  was  one  of  the  Committee  appointed  by  the 
Court  to  cause  a  place  or  places  in  Barnstable  to  be  fortified  for 
the  defence  of  the  inhabitants  against  any  sudden  assault. 

June  5,  1644,  he  was  on  the  grand  jury,  and  at  the  same 
court  he  and  Mr.  Thomas  Hinckley  took  the  oath  of  fidelity. 
They  had  previously  taken  the  same  oath  at  Scituate. 


*  .James  Glass  settled  in  Plymouth.  He  married  Slst  Oct.,  1645,  Mary,  daughter  of 
William  Pontus,  had  Hannah,  2d  June,  1647;  Wybra,  9th  Aug.  1649;  Hannah  again  24th 
Dec.  1651 ;  and  Mary  posthumous.  He  was  a  freeman  1648,  and  was  lost  in  a  storm,  Sept.  3, 
1652,  near  Plymouth  harbor.  Roger  Glass,  a  servant  of  John  Crocker,  was  probably  a 
brother  of  James. 


li)0        GENEALOGICAL    NOTES    OF    BARNSTABLE    FAMILIES. 

The  record  of  his  lands  in  Barnstable  was  not  made  till  3d 
Feb.  1661-2.  His  home  lot  containing  ten  and  one-half  acres, 
was  bounded  easterly  by  Coggins's,  now  called  Great  Pond, 
southerlj'  by  the  highway,  and  John  Finney's  land,  westerly  by 
Henry  Bourne's  land,  and  northerly  by  the  meadow.  His  house 
stood  near  the  spot  where  Sturgis  Gorham,  Esq.,  built  the  house 
now  owned  by  the  Smiths.  The  lot  originall}'  contained  eleven 
acres  and  a  half,  one  acre,  before  the  record  was  made,  had  been 
sold  to  John  Finney.  This  acre  was  near  the  present  railroad 
crossing,  and  was  bounded  on  the  south  by  the  highway,  and  on 
other  sides  by  the  land  of  Henry  Coggiu,  deceased. 

He  also  owned  four  acres  of  marsh  adjoining  his  home  lot ; 
four  on  Jewell's  island  ;  eight  of  marsh  and  one  acre  of  upland 
at  Scorton ;  fifty  acres  of  land  at  the  Indian  pond ;  and  two 
shares  in  the  Calve's  pasture. 

He  married,  perhaps  in  England,  Abigail  Bishop.  Her 
father,  probably,  never  came  to  New  England.  Circumstance 
favors  the  supposition  that  Henry  Coggin  was  a  sea  captain,  and 
that  his  death,  June  16,  1649,  in  England,  occurred,  not  while  he 
was  on  a  visit  to  that  country,  as  Mr.  Savage  supposes  but  while 
pursuing  the  regular  course  of  his  business  as  a  trader  between 
London  and  Boston.  This  is  probably  the  fact.  Nothing  is 
positively  known  on  the  subject.  The  case  which  he  had  with 
John  Tilly  shows  that  he  had  some  connection  with  ships,  and  the 
fact  that  he  was  entited  to  be  called  Mr.  in  Massachusetts,  shows 
•that  he  was  a  man  of  good  standing,  not  a  common  sailor.  His 
widow  married  John  Finney,  according  to  the  Church  Records, 
July  9,  1650,  and  according  to  the  Colony  Records,  10th  June, 
1650  ;  she  died  6th  May,  1653. 

Children  of  Mr.  Henry  Coggin. 

I.  Abigail,  born  probably  in  Scituate,  about  the  year  1637. 
She  married  21st  June,  1659,  John  French,  of  Billerica. 
He  was  a  son  of  William,  and  came  over  in  the  Defence 
with  his  parents  at  the  age  of  5  months.  She  died  soon 
after  ,her  marriage  leaving  no  issue. 

II.  Thomas,  baptized  at  the  Barnstable  Church  March  2,  1639- 
40,  died  26th  Feb.  1658-9  ;  but  according  to  the  Colony 
Records  he  was  buried  28th  Jan.  1658-9.  I 

III.  John,  baptized  Feb.  12,  1642-3.  In  1654  his  parents  were 
dead,  and  all  his  brothers  and  sisters  excepting  Abigail. 
His  father-in-law  had  taken  a  third  wife  who  had  no  sympa- 
thy for  these  children.  Mar.  1,  1658-9  Mr.  Isaac  Robinson 
and  Gyles  Rickard,  Sen'r.,  of  Plymouth,  complained  to  the 

1 1  usually  follow  the  dates  on  the  Church  EecoriJs.  These  are  noted  in  the  order  in 
which  they  occuiTed.  The  Town  Eecords  from  which  the  Colony  were  copied,  hare  been 
transcribed  sevci-al  times,  and  the  order  in  which  they  are  arranged  affords  no  clue  for 
detecting  errors. 


GENEALOGICAL   NOTES    OF    BARNSTABLE    FAMILIES.        191 

Court  that  these  orphan  children  living  with  Finney,  suffered 
wrong  in  several  respects  and  their  case  was  referred  to 
Gov.  Prence  and  Mr.  Thomas  Hinckley  to  examine.  On  the 
3d  of  May  following,  John  Coggin  having  made  choice  of 
Capt.  James  Cudwerth  and  Mr.  Isaac  Robinson,  the  Court 
appointed  them  his  guardians ;  but  ordered  that  he  should 
remain  with  his  father-in-law  tOl  the  June  Court,  and  mean- 
time to  be  Itept  at  school  all  the  time,  excepting  six  days. 
The.  Court  delayed  giving  any  definite  order,  to  give  Mr. 
Finney  time  to  make  up  the  accounts  of  the  estate,  and 
because  letters  were  expected  from  Mr.  Bishop,  the  grand- 
father, who  was  probably  in  England.  June  7,  1659,  all 
the  lands  of  Henry  Goggin,  deceased,  were  transferred  to 
the  guardians  of  John.  In  these  proceedings  Abigail  is  not 
named.  She  was  then  of  age  and  married  soon  after,  as 
above  stated.  ^ 

April  8,  1664,  John  Coggin  executed  a  discharge  of  his  lov- 
ing friends  and  guardians,  acknowledging  himself  to  be 
fully  satisfied  with  their  management  in  relation  to  himselfr 
and  his  estate.  On  the  8th  of  the  following  June,  the 
Court  declared  John  Coggin  to  be  "heir  apparent"  of  Henry 
Goggin,  deceased,*  and  authorized  him  to  make  sale  of 
the  lands  that  were  his  father's.  The  houselot,  meadows 
adjoining,  and  on  Jewell's  island,  and  shares  in  the  Calve's 
Pasture,  he  sold  to  his  father-in-law,  the  meadow  at  Scor- 
ton  to  Capt.  Matthew  Fuller,  and  his  great  lot  at  Indian 
Pond  to  Wm.  Crocker.  He  married  22d  Dec.  1664,  Mary 
Long,  of  Charlestown,  and  had  children,  Henry  and  John. 

IV.  Mary,  baptized  April  20,  1645,  buried  May  3,  1645. 

V.  Henry,  baptized  Oct.   11,    1646.      I  find  no  record  of  his 
death  ;  he  was  not  living  in  1669. 

The  parties  named  in  connection  with  this  family,  were 
among  the  most  respectable  in  this,  and  in  the  Mass.  Col- 
ony.]: The  name  is  written  Coggin,  Coggan,  Cogan,  Cog- 
gen,  and  by  Mr.  Lothrop,  Cogain.  The  records  of  Mr. 
Lothrop's  Church  in  London  are  lost,  but  circumstances 
make  it  probable  that  Mr.  Coggin  was  a  member  in  Eng- 
land, and  was  admitted  to  fellowship  in  the  Scituate  and 
Barnstable  Church,  without  any  formed  proceedings  on 
record.  Circumstances  indicate  that  such  were  the  facts, 
not  only  in  regard  to  Mr.  Coggin  ;  but  to  other  members  of 
the  London  Church,  who  came  over  and  finally  settled 
in  Barnstable.  § 

JMary  Gaunt  was  a  kinsman  of  Henry  Coggin  and  probably  resided  in  his  family.  She 
married  Francis  Crooker. 

§1  have  heretofore  suggested  that  the  old  name  of  Coggin's  pond  be  restored.  The 
present  name  is  indefinite  and  without  meaning.  In  spelling  the  name  I  have  followed  the 
town  records.  Cogain  is  perhaps  better.  Let  the  station  on  the  Cape  Cod  Railroad  be 
called  Cogain's  Pond  station. 


COOPER. 


Dea.  John  Cooper  was  one  of  the  first  settlers  in  Barnstable. 
He  came  to  Plymouth  about  the  year  1632,  and  there  married  on 
the  27th  Nov.  1634,  Priscilla,  widow  of  William  Wright  and 
daughtei;  of  Alexander  Carpenter,*  of  Leyden.  She  had  no  issue 
by  either  marriage  that  survived  her.  In  1683  she  removed  to 
Plymouth  where  she  died  Dec.  29,  1689,  aged  91.  The  following 
is  a  copy  of  her  letter  of  dismission  from  the  Barnstable  to  the 
J'lymouth  Church : 

"ffor  ye  Rev'd  Elders  of  ye  CCh.  of  Ct.,  at  Plymouth,  to 
bee  communicated  to  ye  CCh.  there,  Rev'd  and  beloved  Brethren, 

The  providence  of  God  having  rernoved  ye  Widow  Cooper 
A. member  of  ye  CCh  of  Ct.  at  Barnstable  fro.  us  to  dwell  w'th 
you ;  and  she  desiring  to  partake  with  you  of  ye  good  things  of 
God's  house,  and  to  be  under  yo'r  watch  and  care,  and  in  order 
y'r  unto  to  bee  dismissed  fro.  o'er  CCh  unto  you ;  y'r  fore  if 
you  judge  meet  to  receive  her,  wee  do  dismiss  her  fro.  us  unto 
yo'r  holy^  communion ;  as  one  yt  has  walked  orderly  while  w'th 
us,  and  do  commend  her  to  you  unto  ye  grace  of  God  in  all  you'r 
holy  Administrations. 

In  ye  name  and  w'th  consent  of 
ye  CCh  of  Ct.  at  Barnstable, 

Barnst :  pr  nos, 

8  r:   15,  1683,  Jonath:  Bussel,  Pastor. 

John  Chijiman,  Elder. f 

*  Alexander  Carpenter  was  one  of  Mr.  Bobininson's  church  at  Leyden.  Five  of  his 
daughters  are  named  : 

I.  Anna,  also  named  Agnes,  in  the  Dutch  records,  called  a  maid  oi  "Wrentham,  in  Eng- 
land, married  April  30, 1613,  Samuel  Fuller,  afterwards  the  physician  of  the  Plymouth 
Colony.    She  died  early. 

II.  Julian  or  Julia  Ann,  bom  1584,  married  23d  July,  1612,  at  Leyden,  George  Morton, 
2d,  Manasseth  Kempton,  of  Plymouth,  died  19th  Feb.  1664-5,  aged  81. 

III.  Alice,  bom  1590,  married  first  Constant  Southworth,  was  a  widow  whea  she  came  over, 
married  2d  Got.  William  Bradford,  14th  Aug.  1623,  and  died  March  26,  1670,  aged  80. 

IV.  Priscilla,  bom  1598,  married  as  above  stated. 

"V".     Mary,  according  to  Mr.  Savage,  born  in  1577  and  died  unmarried  at  Plymouth,  March 
-  19, 1668,  aged  90.    Mr.  Bussell  says  in  1638,  if  so  she  was  bom  in  1693,  a  letter  of  hers 
hjs  recently  been  published,  giving  information  respecting  the  family ;  but  I  cannot  at 
this  moment  find  it. 

t  This  letter  is  printed  to  correspond  as  nearly  with  the  original  as  the  types  usually 
found  in  a  printing  office  will  admit.  In  old  manuscripts,  th  is  made  like  the  modem  letter 
y.  Many  transcribers  of  old  manuscripts  use  y  instead  of  th.  This  practice  is  ^vrong, 
because  the  character  was  intended  for  th  not  for  v. 


GENEALOGICAL    NOTES    OF    BARNSTABLE    FAMILIES.         l93 

Dea.  Cooper  was  admitted  a  freeman  Jan.  1,  1634-5  ;  re- 
moved to  Scituate  before  1638  ;  and  was  one  of  the  grantees  of 
the  lands  between  North  and  South  rivers,  made  that  year.  Sept. 
3„  1638,  Cooper's  island  containing  18  acres  was  granted  to  him, 
which  he  sold  in  1639,  to  William  Wills,  and  the  island  bears  the 
name  of  the  latter,  to  this  day.  He  was  constable  of  Barnstable 
in  1640,  and  a  deputy  to  the  Colony  Court  in  1642,  and  '43. 
March  24,  1640-1  he  was  "invested  into  the  office  of  a  Deacon 
Mr.  Lothrop,  Mr.  Mayo  and  Dea.  Cobb  laying  on  hands." 

His  home  lot  was  the  fourth  west  from  Coggin's  pond.  1, 
Henry  Coggins  containing  twelve  acres  ;  2,  Henry  Bourne's,  eight 
acres ;  3,  James  Hamblin's,  twenty  acres,  and  4,  Dea.  Cooper's, 
containing  twenty-four  acres.  The  latter  was  bounded  northerly 
by  the  marsh,  easterly  by  Mr.  Groom,  J  westerly  by  Isaac  Robin- 
son, and  southerly  "running  into  ye  woods."  Deacon  Cooper's 
house  was  on  this  lot,  and  stood  near  the  present  location  of  the 
ancient  house  now  owned  by  William  Hinckley  and  Elijah  Childs. 
A  part  of  that  house  is  ancient  and  it  is  not  improbable  that  it  is 
the  same  which  was  owned  by  Deacon  Cooper.  He  also  owned 
the  meadow  on  the  north  of  his  home-lot,  of  the  same  width  with 
the  upland  and  extending  north  to  the  great  creek ;  a  share  in  the 
Calve's  Pasture  containing  half  an  acre ;  a  little  neck  of  land 
pointing  southerly  into  the  Great  Pond,  with  eight  acres  of 
upland  against  it,  bounded  northerly  by  a  great  swamp  ;  and  a 
neck  of  land  between  the  Great  and  Shoal  ponds.  The  first 
named  neck  of  land  he  sold  May  9,  1656,  to  Roger  Goodspeed, 
and  the  other  to  John  Hall  14th  Feb.  1660-1. 

Dea.  Cooper  had  no  children.  His  sister  Lydia  married  25th 
Dec.  1635,  Nathaniel  Morton,  son  of  George,  and  Secretary  of 
the  Colony  from  1645,  till  he  died  June  29,  1685,  and  the  author 
of  that  well  known  work,  the  New  England's  Memorial.  Dea. 
Cooper  was  the  brother-in-law  of  the  Secretary,  and  his  wife, 
Priscilla,  was  his  aunt.  She  was  also  nearly  related  to  the  Brad- 
ford and  Fuller  families.  Mr.  Dean  says  that  Dea.  Cooper  in  his 
will,  gave  half  of  his  estate  to  the  Barnstable  Church  and. half  to 
his  sister  Lydia,  after  the  decease  of  his  wife.  He  was  not  a 
man  of  large  estate  and  it  is  not  probable  that  much  remained  at 
the  death  of  his  widow. 

A  small  pond  in  the  northerly  part  of  his  home-lot  is  still 
known  as  Cooper's  pond,  and  a  small  island  on  the  north  thereof 
is  called  by  his  name.     A  marsh  island  at  the  north  of  Rendevous 


X  Who  this  Mr.  Groom  was  I  am  unable  to  ascertain.  It  seems  that  in  1653,  when  the 
record  of  Dea.  Cooper's  land  was  made,  that  he  owned  a  part  of  the  land,  recorded  proba- 
bly the  next  year  1654,  as  the  property  of  James  Hamblin.  There  was  a  family  of  that 
name  in  Middlesex  County.  There  was  a  Sa'inuel,  61  Salisbury,  in  1850,  a  mariner,  dignified 
■iTlth  the  prefix  of  Mr.  who  went  home  to  London  before  16S8.  Was  he  that  Quaker  who 
published  iu  1676  "A  Glass  for  the  people  of  N.  B."  Perhaps  the  name  is  Green.  An 
Isaac  Green,  a  suiTcyor,  was  early  of  Barnstable  and  removed  to  Falmouth  at  the  settle- 
ment of  that  tomi  and  had  a  family  thcrp. 


194        GENEALOGICAL    NOTES    OF   BARNSTABLE    FAMILIES. 

Creek  is  also  called  Cooper's  island ;  but  I  think  the  name  is  more 
modern  than  the  time  of  Dea.  Cooper.  Great  or  Nine  Mile  Pond 
is  also  called  Cooper's  Pond  on  the  record — a  good  name — and  if 
revived  would  help  preserve  the  memory  of  one  of  the  best  men 
among  the  settlers  of  Barnstable. § 

§  There  was  another  man  of  the  name  of  John  Cooper  in  the  Colony — a  man  who  did 
not  sustain  the  excellent  character  of  Dea.  John  of  Barnstable»  and  the  reader  of  the 
Colony  records  must  be  careful  not  to  confound  the  two. 


COLEMAN. 


Edward  Coleman,  of  Boston,  and  Margaret,  daughter  of 
Thomas  Lumbard,  of  Barnstable,  were  married  at  Eastham  by 
Mr.  France,  Oct.  27,  1648.  He  was  of  Boston  in  1655,  and 
probably  came  to  Barnstable  soon  after  that  date.  He  was 
admitted  an  inhabitant  Oct.  3,  1662,  and  was  living  26th  March, 
1690,  when  the  town  granted  25  acres  of  land  at  "Yannows"  to 
his  son  Edward,  "on  the  condition  that  he  do  his  utmost  for  the 
maintainance  of  his  father  and  mother  and  the  rest  of  the  family." 
This  grant  was  at  the  south-east  corner  of  the  town,  bounded 
easterly  by  the  bounds  of  Yarmouth,  "south  by  the  harbor  at 
Yannows,"  west  by  the  Hallett  land,  and  north  by  the  commons. 
Margaret  Coleman  was  living  Nov.  12,  1714  ;  but  Edward  Senior 
and  Junior  were  then  both  dead. 

Children  of  Edward  Coleman,  born  in  Boston. 

I.  Edward.  The  date  of  his  birth  was  probably  1649.  He 
died  in  1714,  leaving  no  issue,  and  his  estate  was  divided  to 
his  mother  Margaret ;  his  sister  Widow  Elizabeth  Hadaway  ; 
his  sister  Sarah  Coleman,  and  the  children  of  his  only 
brother  James  Coleman. 

II.  Elizabeth,  born  28th  11  mo.  1651,  was  the  second  wife  of 
the  first  John  Hadaway,  whom  she  married  in  Yarmouth, 
May  1,  1672. 

III.  Mary,  born  12th  Sept.  1653. 

IV.  Martha,  born  8th  Aug.  1655. 

V.  Sarah,  probably  born  in  Barnstable,  unmarried  in  1714. 

VI.  James,  probably  born  in  Barnstable,  married  Patience, 
daughter  of  James  Cobb.  He  was  not  living  in  1714,  and 
his  widow  married  10th  Sept.  1715,  Thomas  Lumbard. 
She  died  March  30,  1747,  aged  78  years. 

Children  of  James  Coleman. 

I.  Edward,  25th  Oct.  1695,  married  Thankful  Lumbard,  16th 
Sept.  1716.     The  names  of  his  children  I  do  not  find  on  the 


196        GENEALOGICAL    NOTES    OF    BARNSTABLE    FAMILIES. 

town  records.  His  son  Edward  was  baptized  Nov.  7,  1725, 
and  his  daughter  Miriara  Oct.  29,  1727.  The  latter  married 
Dec.  13,  1750,  Joseph  Bacon,  Jr. 

II.  Martha,  4th  March,  1698,  married  Sept.  25,  1718,  Capt. 
John  Phinney,  the  founder  of  Gorham,  Maine.  She  had 
nine  children,  viz  :  4  in  Barnstable  ;  3  in  Portland  ;  and  2 
in  Gorham. 

III.  Thanljful,  7th  Feb.  1699-1700,  married  Jan.  16,  1722-3, 
Robert  Claghorn,  and  died  April  1770,  aged  70  years  and  2 
months.  ) 

IV.  A  son,  26th  Feb.  1702-3,  died  same  diy. 

V.  James,  11th  April,  1704,  married  March  12,  1727-8  Pati- 
ence, daughter  of  Dea.  John  Phinney.  He  married  2d 
Martha  (Phinney.)  His  children  were  Martha,  born  Jan. 
31,  1758-9,  probably  died  young.  By  his  second  wife, 
Martha  again,  March  19,  1732-3.  3,  James,  Aug.  8,  1735, 
njarried,  Sept.  24,  1761,  Zerviah  Thomas,  and  June  28, 
1763,  Ann  Lumbard.  4,  John,  May  14,  1739,  removed  to 
Granville,  N.  S.  married  Feb.  19,  1764,  Abigail,  daughter 
of  Capt.  -James  Delap.  He  lived  to  be  aged,  and  has 
descendants  in  Nova  Scotia.  5,  Mary,  born  March  27, 
1739,  married  March  15,  1763,  David  Howland.  Mr. 
James  Coleman  died  April  16,  1781,  aged  77,  and  his  widow 
Feb.  29,  1784,  aged  80. 

VI.  Jolm,  born  26th  Sept.  1706,  married  Aug.  5,  1736,  Reliance, 
widow  of  Eleazer  Cobb.  She  died  June  11,  1742,  aged  36, 
and  he  married  2d,  Mary  Hamblin,  Aug.  2,  1743.  He 
resided  in  the  ancient  Samuel  Cobb  house  till  Nov.  20,  1746, 
when  he  removed  to  South  Sea.  His  children  were  all 
baptized  at  the  East  Church,  namelv  :  Martha,  June  19, 
1737;  John,  Oct.  29,  1738;  Mary,  May  11,  1740;  Mary 
again,  August  5,  1744;  Thomas,  November  8,  1747; 
Nathaniel,  Sept.  17,  1749 ;  Zaccheus,  Feb,  24,  1750-1  ; 
Reliance,  April  26,  1752.  Nathaniel  of  this  family  was 
insane  tlie  latter  part  of  his  life.  He  believed  the  land  had 
everywhere  become  soft  and  mu-y.  He  carried  a  very  long 
cane  with  a  ram's  horn  on  the  upper  end,  and  his  hat  was 
ornamented  with  feathers  of  various  colors,  stuck  under  the 
band.  Notwithstanding  his  constant  fear  of  sinliing,  he  was 
good  natvured,  cheerful,  and  inoffensive.  As  he  walked 
thro'  the  streets,  feeling  his  way,  with  his  left  foot  always 
in  advance  of  his  right,  he  would  sing  these  words,  "Bacon's 
got  home  and  brought  me  a  new  ram's  horn,  a  new  ram's 
horn,  a  new  ram's  horn." 

VII.  Patience,  6th  May,  1709,  married  June  20,   1732,    James 
Lothrop. 

VIII.  Ebenezer,  15th  Aug.  1711. 


GENEALOGICAL    NOTES    OF    BARNSTABLE    FAMILIES.         197 

The  town  records  respecting  this  family  are  defective.  The 
deficiencies,  I  presume,  may  be  supplied  from  the  Church  and 
Probate  records. 

Edward  Coleman  built  the  first  house  at  Hyannis.  At  that 
time  all  the  southerly  part  of  Barnstable  was  called  "South  Sea," 
and  the  Indians  resident  there,  "South  Sea  Indians."  The  earli- 
est settlers  at  South  Sea  were  John  Thompson,  who  sold  his  land 
to  John  Lovell,  Roger  Goodspeed,  Jona  Hatch,  Thomas  Bumpas, 
and  Joshua  Lumbert.  The  first  building  erected  by  the  whites 
was  a  warehouse  by  Nicholas  Davis,  near  where  Timothy  Baker's 
store  now  stands,  and  on  land  presented  to  him  by  the  Sachem 
Hianna. 

In  1697  the  "South  Sea"  men  were  Thomas  Macy,  John, 
Benjamin,  and  Ebenezer  Goodspeed,  sons  of  Roger ;  John  Lovell, 
and  his  sons  John,  James,  William,  and  Andrew  ;  John  Issum, 
Thomas  Bumpass,  Dollar  Davis,  Thomas  Lewis,  Joshua  Lumbert, 
John  Lianell,  John  Phinney,  Jr.,  Edward  Lewis,  Joseph  Lothrop, 
Jr.,  John  Lewis,  and  Edward  Coleman. 

Soon  after  this  date  the  Hallett,  Crowell,  Bearse,  and  Clag- 
horn  families  settled  at  South  Sea.  Jouatlian  Lewis,  who,  accord- 
ing to  tradition,  was  the  first  settler  in  the  present  village  of 
Hyannis,  probably  did  not  build  his  house  before  his  marriage  in 
1703.  The  foregoing  statement  shows  that  Edward  Coleman  was 
the  first  settler  at  Hyannis.  His  house  was  at  the  south-east 
corner  of  the  town,  not  far  from  Baxter's  wharf. 

The  Indian  villages  at  South  Sea,  beginning  at  the  south-west 
corner  of  the  town  were,  1st,  Cotuit  or  Satuite,  the  present  name  ; 
2d,  Mistic,  now  Marston's  Mills  ;  3,  Cot-o-ches-et,  now  Osterville  ; 
4,  Shon-co-net,  now  corrupted  into  Skunknet ;  5,  Che-qua-quet, 
or  Wee-qua-quet,  now  Centreville  and  Hyannis  Port ;  6,  Tam-a- 
hap-pa-see-a-kon.  This  was  the  name  of  the  brook,  now  known 
as  Baxter's  Mill  Pond  and  River.  The  lands  in  the  vicinity  were 
probably  known  by  the  same  name.  Tliis  was  the  uniform  prac- 
tice of  the  Indians,  and  it  was  not  probably  departed  from  in  this 
case.  The  name  being  a  long  one,  and  difficult;  to  pronounce  was 
dropped,  and  the  name  of  the  Sachem  adopted.  As  -I  intend 
devoting  an  article  to  this  name,  I  will  here  make  only  one 
remark.  In  writing  this  name  all  the  early  writers,  excepting 
Thacher,  dropped  the  aspirate  H  at  the  beginning,  and  wrote  the 
name  lyanough,  Yanno,  or  J  anno.  The  popular  pronunciation  of 
the  name  indicates  that  the  orthography  of  Mr.  Thacher's  Hianno, 
is  the  best. 

All  the  Indian  names  that  I  have  succeeded  in  translating 
are  descriptive  terms,  suggested  by  some  physical  peculiarity  of 
the  region  to  which  they  were  applied.  Cotuit  or  Satuit  means 
"cold  brook,"  and  was  so  named  because  there  are  many  springs 
of  cool  water  in  the  vicinity  of  the  pond  and  brook  of  tihat  name. 


198        GENEALOGICAL    NOTES    OF    BAKNSTABLE    FAMILIES. 

There  is  a  brook  of  the  same  name  in  Scituate,  from  which  that 
town  derives  its  name.  Mistic  is  a  name  that  is  forgotten  and 
lost,  by  the  people  who  reside  in  that  vicinity.  Marston's  Mills 
is  not  an  improvement  on  the  Indian  name. 

Cot-o-che-set.  The  manner  in  which  this  name  is  written  on 
the  town  records,  has  probably  had  an  influence  in  bringing  it  into 
disuse.  For  more  than  half  a  century  it  was  the  popular  name  of 
Oyster  Island  village.  The  island  was  so  named  on  account  of 
the  abundance  of  Oysters  found  in  its  vicinity — a  very  appropriate 
name  for  the  island  ;  but  not  applicable  to  the  main  land.  When 
the  post-ofHce  was  established  in  the  village,  about  thirty  years 
ago,  it  was  called  Osterville,  for  what  good  reason  is  unknown. 
The  old  name  Cot-o-che-set,  is  a  better  one,  more  expressive,  and 
at  the  time  of  the  change,  was  familiar  to  many  of  the  aged. 

Skon-ko-net,  perhaps  a  derivative  of  Kong-kont,  the  crow, 
and  so  called  because  those  birds  frequent  that  region.  This 
name  is  now  incorrectly  written  and  pronounced  Skunknet.  Only 
the  northerly  and  westerly  part  of  the  tract  formerly  so-called  is 
now  so  designated.  The  western  branch  of  the  Skon-ke-net  river 
is  now  known  as  Bump's  river,  and  the  easterly  as  Phinney's  mill 
brook. 

The  changing  of  a  few  letters  in  an  Indian  name,  often 
makes  a  redical  change  in  the  meaning  of  the  word.  Che-qua- 
quet  signifies  "the  edge  of  a  forest."  The  large  knurls  on  the 
oak  were  called  by  the  same  name.  As  these  abound  more  on 
the  edge  than  in  the  center  of  a  forest,  it  is  not  surprising  that  in 
a  language  containing  so  few  words  as  the  Indian,  that  both 
shoukl  be  called  by  the  same  name.  The  termination,  "et,"  was 
applied  to  places  near  the  water,  so  that  the  literal  meaning  of 
Che-qua-quet  seems  to  be  "a  village  situate  on  the  edge  of  the 
forest  and  by  the  sea-shore."  This  is  descriptive  of  the  place, 
and  probably  the  true  signification  of  the  name. 

The  village  was  by  Bourne,  as  quoted,  Gooken,  called  Wee- 
qua-keet,  a  different  name,  Wee-koh-quat,  is  "fair  weather,"  and 
with  the  terminal  "et,"  instead  of  "at,"  the  meaning  would  \je 
fair  weather  harbor  or  river.  Mr.  Bourne's  authority  is  not  to  be 
rejected  for  slight  reasons.  In  the  records,  where  the  name 
frequently  occurs,  it  is  uniformly  written  Che-qua-quet,  with  some 
unimportant  variations  in  the  orthography — never  Wee-qua-keet. 
The  popular  pronunciation  of  the  name  is  uniformly  Che  or  Cha, 
not  Wee-qua-quet.  This  is  not  conclusive  ;  but  taken  in  connec- 
tion with  the  records,  I  think  it  settles  the  question  in  favor  of 
Che-qua-quet  as  the  best  authorized  spelling  of  the  name. 

When  the  post-office  was  established,  the  old  name  was 
dropped  and  the  French  Centreville  adopted.  This  is  not  so 
objectionable  as  Osterville,  yet  it  is  no  improvement  on  the  old. 
There  is,  however,  one  objection  ;  there  are  many  post-offices  of 


GENEALOGICAL    NOTES    OF    BARNSTABLE    FAMILIES.        199 

that  name,  and  for  that  reason  mail  matter  is  now  liable  to  be 
mis-sent.  This  objection  would  not  be  applicable  to  the  name 
Che-qua-quet.* 

*For  the  definition  of  Che-qua-qiiet  and  many  other  Indian  names,  I  am  indebted  to 
an  intelligent  Indian  Chief  irom  the  West.  He  had  a  perfect  knowledge  of  his  native  tongue 
which  was  a  dialect  of  the  language  spoken  by  the  Massachusetts  Indians.  He  could 
read  withoutmucli  difficulty  Eliot's  ludiau  bible,  and  Cotton's  vocabulary.  He  was  very 
cautious  in  giving  his  opinion.  The  names  of  places  were  often  spelt  so  diflerently  from 
the  manner  in  which  he  was  accustomed  to  write  the  equivalent  words  that  he  did  not 
always  recognize  them.  He  asked  me  several  times  if  the  pronunciation  of  the  first  sylable 
of  Che-qua-quet  was  Che  or  Tshe,  not  Wee,  because  the  meaning  of  the  name  depended  on 
that  pronunciation.  The  meaning  of  the  name  of  a  pond  in  Mashpee,  which  be  gave  me, 
is  confirmed  by  Mr.  Marston,  the  Indian  superintendent,  as  it«  tinae  meaning.  I  have  also 
attempted  to  obtain  information  from  members  of  the  Penobscot  tribe,  out  with  little 


CROCKER. 


Two  brothers  named  John  and  William  Crocker,  were  among 
the  first  settlers  in  Barnstable,  William  came  with  Mr.  Lothrop 
and  his  church  Oct.  21,  1639,  and  John  the  following  spring. 
There  was  also  a  Francis  Crocker  of  Barnstable,  able  to  bear 
arms,  Aug.  1643.  He  was  one  of  the  soldiers  in  the  Narraganset 
Expedition,  sent  from  Barnstable  Aug.  1645.  He  married  in 
1647,  Mary  Grant  "a  kinswoman  of  Mr.  Goggain  of  Barn- 
stable,"* and  removed  to  Scituate,  and  from  thence  to  Marshfield. 
He  had  a  family,  and  his  descendents  now  write  their  name 
Crocker. 

John  Crocker,  the  elder  brother,  left  no  family  ;  but  William's 
posterity  are  very  numerous.  Perhaps  no  one  of  the  first  comers, 
has  more  descendants  now  living.  A  large  majority  of  all  in  the 
United  States,  and  in  the  British  Provinces  of  the  name,  trace 
their  descent  from  Dea.  William  of  Barnstable.  The  descendants 
of  Francis  are  not  numerous.  A  Thomas  Crocker,  born  in  1633, 
settled  in  New  London  and  had  a  family.  Widow  Anne  Crocker 
of  Scituate,  had  a  son  Moses  born  in  1650,  but  it  does  not  appear 
that  he  has  any  descendants.  Mr.  Savage  names  an  Edward  of 
Boston,  who  was  the  public  executioner  in  1684,  and  a  Daniel 
who  married  in  1660,  but  these  were  perhaps  descendants  of 
Francis. 

It  is  said,  on  how  good  authority  I  have  not  ascertained,  that 
John  and  William  Crocker  came  over  in  1634,  either  in  the  same 
ship  with  Rev.  Mr.  JjOthrop,  or  in  another  that  sailed  about  the 
same  time,  and  that  they  stopped  in  Roxbury  before  they  settled 
in    Scituate.      Th6y  did  not  remain    long  in  Roxbury,   for  their 

*The  renowned  Capt.  ^obn  Smith,  probably  the  first  white  who  visited  Barnstable  har- 
bor, wrote  this  name  as  here  spelled.  The  town  in  England  ii'om  which  our  town  was 
na)aed  is  now  written  Barnstaple.  On  his  return  from  his  voyage  in  1614,  he  presented  to 
Prince  Charles  a  schedule  of  Indian  names  of  places,  and  recommended  new  ones.  For 
Naembeck,  (probably  Naumkeag,  Salem)  he  proposed  the  name  of  Bastable,  for  Chaw-tim 
(Shaume)  part  of  Sandwich,  Barrwick,  (forAccomack,  Plymouth,  &c.  A  few  of  the  new 
names  are  retained.  Mr.  John  BuLey  (probably  John  Bursley)  afterwards  of  Barnstable, 
owned  one-fourth  of  the  two  ships  which  Capt.  bmith  commanded  in  1614. 


GENEALOGICAL    NOTES    OF    UAKNSTABLE    FAMILIES.        201 

names  do  not  appear  on  the  Massachusetts  Colony  Records. 

Crocker  or  Croker  as  the  name  is  usually  written  in  England, 
is  very  ancient.     An  old  proverbial  distich  record  that, 
"Crosker,  Crewys,  and  Copplestone, 
When  the  Conqueror  came,  were  at  home." 
The  family  of  Crocker,  originally  seated  at  Crocker's  Hale, 
and  Crokern.     For,  in  Devonshire,  became  possessed  of  Lineham, 
by  marriage  with  the  heirs  of  Churchill.     The  genealogy  of  the 
Crokers  of  Lineham  is  accurately  recorded  and  exhibits  a  descent 
of    eleven   John    Crockers   in    almost   uninterrupted    succession. 
Members   of  the   family   removed   to   Cornwall,  Waterford,  and 
other  places.     (See  Bui-ke.) 

JOHN   CROCKER. 

It  incidentally  appears  by  Mr.  Lothrop's  church  records,  that 
John  Crocker  was  an  inhabitant  of  Scituate  in  1636.  Feb.  1, 
1638-9,  he  and  other  inhabitants  of  Scituate  took  the  oath  of 
allegiance.  March  3,  1639-40,  he  is  called  of  Scituate,  but  he 
probably  removed  soon  after  this  date  to  Barnstable.  Mr.  Deane 
says  he  probably  did  not  remove  till  1654  ;  but  this  is  a  mistake, 
for  he  was  certainly  of  Barnstable  Aug.  1643.  The  account 
given  by  Mr.  Deane  of  his  family,  is  erroneous  and  the  fault  is 
perhaps  chargeable  to  his  printer,  and  not  to  the  author,  the  name 
of  John  having  been  inadvertantly  substituted  bj'  the  printer  for 
that  of  William.  His  wife's  name  was  Joan  or  Jane.  The  date 
of  his  marriage  does  not  appear  on  record,  probably  not  till  late 
in  life.  In  Mr.  Lothrop's  list  of  the  householders  in  Scituate  his 
name  does  not  occur,  making  it  probable  that  he  was  not  married 
till  after  1637.  If  he  had  any  children  they  all  died  young,  for 
he  had  none  living  at  his  death  in  1669. 

The  farm  of  John  Crocker,  now  owned  by  the  descendants 
of  his  brother  William,  is  at  the  north-east  corner  of  the  West 
Parish  in  Barnstable,  and  is  thus  described  on  the  town  records  : 
"Forty  acres  of  upland,  more  or  less,  bounded  easterly  by 
Goodman  Bearse,  westerly  by  Mr.  Dimmock,  northerly  by  the 
marsh,  and  southerly  into  the  woods."  He  also  owned  forty 
acres  of  salt  marsh  adjoining  his  farm  on  the  north  ;  and  thirty 
acres  of  upland  at  the  Indian  p(md,  the  later  he  sold  24th  Feb. 
1662-3,  to  John  Thompson.  Feb.  10,  1668-9,  (the  day  on  which 
he  executed  his  will)  Abraham  Blush  conveyed  to  him  for  £5,10, 
his  great  lot  containing  forty  acres  of  upland  and  six  of  marsh. 
This  lot  is  situated  on  the  east  side  of  Scorton  Hill,  and  is  now 
known  as  the  Bodfish  farm.  By  Blush's  deed  it  appears  that  John 
Crocker  had  formerly  owned  meadow  in  that  vicinity,  then  owned 
by  Edward  Fitzrandolph. 

John  Crocker  was  propounded  to  be  a  freeman  June  6,  1649, 
and  admitted  on  the  4th  of  June  following.  He  was  a  juryman 
in    1647,   '50  and  '54;   and  surveyor  of  the  liighways  in   1668. 


202        GENEALOGICAL    NOTES    OF    BAKNSTABLB    FAMILIES. 

June  6,  1649,  he  was  licensed  to  keep  an  ordinary,  tiie  name  by 
which  taverns  or  public  houses  were  then  known. 

March  2,  1646-7  he  made  a  complaint  against  Thomas  Shaw, 
which  is  entered  on  the  Colony  Records,  and  it  incidentally  fur- 
nishes some  information  that  is  of  interest.  This  is  the  first  crimi- 
nal complaint  made  against  a  Barnstable  man,  and  is  interesting 
on  that  account.  It  shows  that  John  Crocker  was  a  good-liver, 
that  his  house  was  either  pallisade  built,  or  surrounded  by  a 
pallisade ;  and  that  small,  as  well  as  large  offenders  were 
promptly  and  severely  dealt  with.     (See  Casely  No.  33.) 

"At  a  General  Court  holden  March  2d,  in  the  x  x  i  j  th  year 
of  his  Maj'etts  now  Raigne,  of  England,  &c.,  1646-7. 

At  this  Court  John  Crocker  compl.  against  Thomas  Shawe 
for  coming  into  his  house  by  putting  aside  some  loose  pallizadoes 
on  the  Lords  day,  about  the  middle  of  the  day,  and  tooke  and 
carried  out  of  his  said  house  some  venison,  some  beefe,  some 
butter,  cheese,  bread,  and  tobacco,  to  the  value  of  x  i  i  d,  which 
the  said  Thomas  Shaw  openly  in  publike  Court  confessed,  sub- 
mitting himself  to  the  censure  of  the  Court ;  whereupon,  his 
sureties  being  released,  he  was  committed  to  the  Marshall's 
charge  ;  and  the  Court  censured  him  to  make  satisfaction  for  the 
goods  stolen,  1  sh.,  being  so  valued,  and  14  s,  4  d,  a  peece  to  the 
two  men  that  attended  on  him  to  the  Court,  and  to  be  publikely 
whipt  at  the  post,  which  was  accordingly  don  by  the  publike 
officer." 

John  Crocker's  house  stood  near  the  ancient  dwelling-house 
recently  occupied  by  Joseph  and  Prince  Crocker  deceased.  Per- 
haps that  house  was  originally  John  Crocker's,  enlarged  by  its 
subsequent  owners.  It  appears  by  the  above  extract  that  the 
house  was  either  pallisade  built  or  was  surrounded  by  pallisade 
fence.  The  nine  houses  first  built  in  Scituate  were  small  pallisade 
houses  and  intended  only  as  temporary  residences.  They  were 
not  built  as  the  log-houses  at  the  West  are  built,  by  piling  logs 
horizontally  over  each  other ;  but  with  small  poles,  placed  in 
paralled  rows,  and  filled  in  with  stones  and  clay.  Some  of  the 
better  kinds  were  plastered.  The  I'oofs  were  thatched  with  the 
long  sedge  that  grows  abundantly  near  the  creeks  in  the  salt 
meadows.  The  fire-place  was  built  of  stone,  and  the  chimney  of 
sticks  piled  like  a  cob-house  and  plastered  on  the  inside  with  clay. 
Straw  or  thatch  served  for  a  floor  and  a  carpet.  The  south-east 
slope  of  a  hill,  near  water,  was  usually  selected  by  the  first 
settlers  on  which  to  place  their  dwellings.  By  digging  into  the 
hill-side  a  secure  back  to  the  fire-place  was  obtained  and  the  labor 
of  building  one  side  diminished.  As  a  substitute  for  glass,  oiled 
paper  was  used.  Such  houses  were  called  by  some  of  the  early 
writers  booths,  that  is  a  shelter  made  of  slight  materials  for  tem- 
porary purposes.  A  few  such  houses  were  put  up  in  Barnstable, 
by  those  who  came  with  Mr.  Lothrop  in  October,  1639.     Many  of 


GENEALOGICAL    NOTES    OF    BARNSTABLE    FAMILIES.        203 

those  who  came  in  the  spring  of  that  year  had  good  substantial 
frame-houses.  A  saw  mill  had  then  been  erected  in  Scituate  and 
lumber,  for  covering  and  finishing  buildings,  could  be  cheaply 
procured.  Mr.  Hull,  Mr.  Mayo,  Thos.  Lumbert,  Mr.  Dimmock, 
and  others  had  frame-houses.  According  to  tradition  preserved 
in  the  family,  the  first  house  built  by  Gov.  Hinckley,  and  that  by 
his  father  Samuel,  were  on  the  east  side  of  Goggins'  pond,  had 
thatched  roofs,  and  were  not  much  better  than  the  booths  above 
described,  yet  they  were  the  only  houses  they  had  for  several 
years. 

It  is  doubtful  whether  the  first  comers  ever  built  any  houses 
of  the  description  now  known  as  log-houses.  Block  houses  of  a 
similar  construction  to  a  log-house,  were  built  early.  They  were 
constructed  of  hewn  timbers,  two  stories  high,  and  adapted  for 
defence  against  Indian  hostilities  as  well  as  for  a  residence.  A 
block  house  was  built  in  Yarmouth  ;  but  in-  Barnstable,  the  lower 
stories  of  all  the  fortification  houses  were  of  stone,  and  have 
already  been  described. 

Some  of  the  pallisade  houses  built  by  the  first  settlers,  were 
the  most  comfortable  and  durable  houses  built.  Elder  John 
Chipman's,  I  believe,  was  so  constructed,  Mr.  John  Crow's,  of 
Yarmouth,  certainly  was,  and  stood  nearly  two  centuries,  required 
but  little  repair,  and,  in  fact,  the  recent  owners  did  not  know  that 
it  was  so  constructed  till  it  was  taken  down.  This  house  was 
built  by  taking  large  sticks  of  timber  for  sills  and  plates,  boring 
two  paralled  rows  of  holes  in  each,  about  six  inches  apart,  except- 
ing where  doors  or  windows  were  to  be  placed,  and  filling  between 
with  stones  and  clay.  This  formed  the  walls  of  the  house,  which 
were  plastered  with  shell  mortar  inside  and  out.  The  Crowell 
house  was  afterwards  clap  boarded,  which  concealed  the  original 
construction  from  sight. 

Jolin  Crocker's  house  probably  was  not  so  constructed, 
because  it  would  be  difficult  for  any  one  to  have  removed  the 
pallisadoes  and  entered  the  house  in  the  manner  described. 
Many  of  the  early  settlers  built  a  pallisade  around  their  houses, 
and  John  Crocker  probably  did,  as  a  defence  against  the  Indians, 
and  to  keep  out  intruders  and  wild  beasts.  Such  pallisades  were 
built  of  small  logs  12  or  15  feet  long,  sharpened  at  each  end  and 
set  or  driven  into  the  ground  side  by  side,  so  as  to  form  a  fence 
ten  feet  high,  which  it  would  be  difficult  for  man  or  beast  to 
scale. 

He  died  in  1669  leaving  a  wife  Jane,  but  no  children.  After 
providing  for  his  widow  he  gave  his  estate  to  the  sons  of  his 
brother  William,  and  appointed  his  nephew  Job,  his  executor. 
The  latter  came  into  possession  of  the  old  homestead,  and  it  is 
now  owned  by  his  descendants. 

He  was  a  very  different  man  from  his  brother  Dea.  William. 


204        GENEALOGICAL    NOTES    OF    BARNSTABLE    FAMILIES. 

He  was  illiterate,  kept  a  public  house  where  it  was  customary  in 
early  times,  for  a  certain  class  of  people,  found  in  all  commu- 
nities, to  assemble  to  drink,  and  indulge  in  low  and  vicious 
conversation.  Such  company  and  such  associations  never  im- 
prove the  temper  or  moral  character  of  a  man,  or  add  anything  to 
his  respectable  standing  in  society.  His  treatment  of  his  servant 
Roger  Glass,  a  very  worthy  young  man,  shows  that  he  was  a  man, 
"In  whose  veins  the  milk  of  human  kindness  did  not  flow."  That 
he  belonged  to  Mr.  Lothrop's  church,  does  not  appear.  He  was 
one  of  the  pioneer  settlers  in  Scituate  and  in  Barnstable.  He 
was  not  a  perfect  man.  His  ashes  rest  in  the  old  burying-ground 
beside  thosa  of  the  fathers  where  it  will  be  well  to  let  them  rest 
in  peace. 

William  Crocker,  a  younger  brother  of  John,  joined  Mr. 
Lothrop's  church  in  Scituate  Dec.  25,  1636.  He  came  to  Barn- 
stable Oct.  21,  1639,  and  his  daughter  Elizabeth,  baptized  Dec. 
22,  1639,  is  the  fourth  on  the  list,  showing  that  he  was  among  the 
first  who  came.  He  built  a  frame  house  in  Scituate  in  1636 — the 
forty-fourth  built  in  that  town.  June  5,  1644,  he  was  propounded 
a  freeman,  but  does  not  appear  to  have  been  admitted  till  after 
1652.  He  was  constable  of  Barnstable  in  1644;  on  the  grand 
jury  in  1654,  '55,  '57,  '61,  '67  and  '75 ;  selectman  in  1668 ; 
deputy  to  the  Colony  Court  in  1670,  71,  and  74  ;  and  surveyor  of 
highways  1673.  In  the  year  1675  he  was  on  the  jury  which 
condemned  the  murderers  of  John  Sassamon,  secretary  of  King 
Phillip.  He  was  one  of  the  leading  men  in  early  times  and  was 
often  employed  in  the  business  of  the  town  and  in  settling  the 
estates  of  deceased  persons. 

He  probably  settled  first  in  the  easterly  part  of  the  town, 
and  removed  to  West  Barnstable  about  the  year  1643.  The  loss 
of  the  early  records  makes  it  difficult  to  decide,  but  it  is  probable 
that  his  first  house  in  Barnstable  was  on  the  lot  next  west  of 
Henry  Bourne's.  He  had  a  large  landed  estate,  and  for  many 
years  was  perhaps  the  richest  man  in  town.  His  sons  were  all 
men  of  wealth.  In  1703  his  son  Joseph  was  the  owner  of  the 
largest  estate  in  Barnstable. 

In  1655,  Dea.  William  Crocker  owned  one  hundred  and 
twenty-six  acres  of  upland,  and  twenty-two  acres  of  meadow  at 
West  Barnstable,  and  forty  acres  of  upland  at  the  Indian  ponds.* 
The  West  Barnstable  farm  was  bounded  easterly  by  the  farm  of 
John  Smith,  now  known  as  the  Otis  farm,  and  by  the  farm  of 
Samuel  Hinckley,  now  owned  by  Levi  L.  Goodspeed,  southerly 


t  Tbe  Indian  ponds  are  three  in  number,  and  form  the  head  waters  of  the  stream  now 
known  as  Marston's  Mill  river.  Excepting  where  the  water  was  very  high,  all  these  ponds 
did  "not  originally  connect  with  the  mill  stream.  They  were  called  the  Indian  I'ouds 
because  the  Indian  land  reservation  was  on  their  borders.  On  the  town  records  there  is  an 
entry  of  five  dollars,  paid  for  permanently  closing  one  of  the  passages ;  and,  at  some  former 
time  a  new  outlet  was  excavated  at  a  very  considerable  expense,  probably  for  the  purpose 
of  admitting  herring. 


GENEALOGICAL    NOTES    OP    BARNSTABLE    FAMILIES.        205 

it  extended  into  the  woods.  The  southerly  part  of  the  farm,  in 
1654,  was  bounded  on  the  west  by  the  commons,  and  the  northerlj' 
part  by  lands  then  owned  by  Governor  Bodfish,  and  afterwards 
by  Lieut.  John  Howland.  He  afterwards  added  largely  to  his 
West  Barnstable  farm,  and  to  the  farm  at  the  Indian  pond,  the 
latter  containing  one  hundred  acres  at  his  death.  The  West 
Barnstable  farm  was  two  miles  in  length  from  north  to  south, 
extending  from  the  salt  meadows  on  the  waters  at  Barnstable 
harbor  to  the  neighborhood  of  the  West  Barnstable  meeting- 
house. The  lands  he  first  occupied  were  the  south-easterly  part 
of  the  farm,  the  old  stone  house  which,  according  to  tradition, 
was  his  first  residence,  was  about  a  fourth  of  a  mile  easterly  from 
the  West  Barnstable  church.  This  stone  or  fortification  house 
was  taken  down  many  years  ago.  A  few  aged  persons  remember 
to  have  seen  it  in  a  ruinous  state.  This  part  of  the  farm  his  son 
Josiah  afterwards  owned.  There  was  another  stone  house  on  the 
south-westerly  part  of  the  farm  owned  by  the  descendants  of 
Eleazer.  This  was  talsen  down  about  the  year  1815.  It  was 
called  the  old  Stone  Fort,  and  stood  where  Capt.  Josiah  Fish's 
house  now  stands.  It  was  about  25  feet  in  front  and  20  feet  on 
the  rear.  The  walls  of  the  lower  story  were  built  of  rough  stones 
laid  in  clay  mortar,  and  nearly  three  feet  in  thickness.  The 
upper  story  was  of  wood  and  projected  over  the  lower  on  the 
front,  about  three  feet.  In  this  projection  were  a  number  of  loop 
holes  about  six  inches  square,  closed  by  small  trap  doors.  The 
windows  in  the  lower  story  were  high  and  narrow.  These  and 
the  loop  holes  in  the  projection,  were  intende*&  to  be  used  as  port- 
holes, should  the  building  be  assaulted  by  hostile  Indians.  The 
earliest  known  occupant,  to  any  now  living,  was  Mr.  Benoni 
Crocker,  a  great-grand-son  of  Dea.  William.  He  made  a  two 
story  addition  on  the  south-side,  which  was  occupied  by  his  son 
Barnabas. 

Dea.  William  Crocker  married  in  1636  Alice.  She  was  living 
in  1683,  was  the  mother  of  all  his  children ;  but  died  soon  after 
that  date.  He  married  second  Patience,  widow  of  Robert  Parker 
and  a  daughter  of  Elder  Henry  Cobb.  He  died  in  the  fall  of 
1692.  His  age  is  not  stated,  but  he  was  propably  about  80  years 
of  age.  His  will  is  printed  below  at  full  length.  It  is  a  docu- 
ment that  will  be  interesting  to  his  descendants,  and  to  the  public 
as  a  specimen  of  the  manner  in  which  those  instruments  were 
drawn  up  iii  olden  times. 

The  last  will  and  testament  of  Deacon  William  Crocker  of 
Barnstable,  in  New  England. 

The  6th  day  of  September  Anno  Dom.  1692  I,  William 
Crocker  of  Barnstable,  being  sick  and  weak  in  body  but  throu  ye 
mercy  of  God  of  disposing  mind  and  memory,  and  knowing  ye 
uncertainty  of    this  life  on  earth,  and  being  desirous  to  settle 


206        GENEALOGICAL    NOTES    OF    BAKNSTABLE    FAMILIES. 

things  in  order,  do  make  tliis  my  last  will  and  testament  in  man- 
ner and  forme  following,  viz :  first  and  principally,  I  give  and 
committ  my  soul  to  God  in  Jesus  Christ  my  Saviour  and  Redeemer 
throw  whose  pretious  death  and  merrits  I  hope  to  find  ye  free 
pardon  and  remition  of  all  my  sinnes,  and  everlasting  salvation, 
and  my  body  to  ye  earth  from  whence  it  was  talien,  to  be  buried 
in  such  decent  manner  as  to  my  Executor  hereafter  named,  shall 
seem  meet  and  convenient,  and  as  touching  my  wordly  estate 
which  God  hath  in  mercy  lent  unto  me,  my  will  is  to  bestow  ye 
same  as  hereafter  is  expressed,  and  I  do  hereby  revoke  and  make 
void  all  wills  by  me  formerly  made  and  declared  and  appoint  this 
to  be  my  last  will  and  testament. 

Imprimus  my  will  is  that  all  those  debts  and  duties  which  I 
owe  in  right  or  conscience  to  any  person  or  persons  whatsoever, 
shall  be  well  and  truly  contented  and  paid  when  convenient  by  my 
Executor. 

Itt.  I  give  and  bequeath  unto  Patience  my  loving  wife, 
besides  ye  liberty  to  dispose  of  all  ye  estate  which  she  brought 
with  her  or  had  at  ye  time  of  our  intermarriage,  and  besides  ye 
forty  pounds  I  then  promised  to  give  her,  in  case  she  should  sur- 
vive me,  I  give  unto  her  my  best  bedd  and  bedstead  with  all  ye 
ffurniture  thereto  belonging. 

Itt.  I  give  and  bequeath  to  my  eldest  son  John  Crocker  my 
now  dwelling  house  and  lands  both  upland  and  ffresh  meadows 
adjoyning  and  belonging  thereunto  now  and  of  late  under  my 
occupation  and  improvement  to  have  and  to  hold  to  him  his  heirs 
and  assignes  foreve^he  or  they  paying  to  ye  s'd  Patience  my  wife 
twenty  pounds  of  ye  fores'd  forty  pounds  she  is  to  receive,  and  I 
do  also  hereby  confirm  to  him  my  son  John  his  heirs  and  assignes 
forever  all  those  parcels  of  land  I  heretofore  gave  unto  him  and 
are  well  known  to  have  been  in  his  quiet  possession  for  sundry 
years  ;  I  further  also  give  and  bequeath  to  him  my  son  John  my 
two  oxen  which  he  hath  had  in  his  posession  some  years. 

Itt.  I  give  and  bequeath  unto  my  son  Job  Crocker  besides  ye 
land  I  heretofore  gave  him  and  known  to  be  in  his  possession, 
twenty  acres  of  that  fifty  acres  at  ye  ponds  which  I  purchased  of 
John  Coggin  to  have  and  to  hold  to  him  my  son  Job  his  heirs  and 
assignes  forever  and  .that  he  chuse  it  on  which  side  of  s'd  land  he 
please. 

Itt.  I  will  and  bequeath  to  my  sons  Josiah  and  Eliazer 
Crocker  besides  those  lands  I  heretofore  gave  to  ea'eh  of  them 
and  are  in  their  particular  knowne  possession,  all  my  upland  at 
the  marsh  together  with  all  ye  marsh  adjoining  thereunto,  (except 
such  particular  parcel  or  parcels  thereof  as  I  have  heretofore 
given  and  is  possest  of  late  by  anj'  other  or  is  in  these  presents 
hereafter  mentioned,)  to  be  equally  divided  between  them  ye  s'd 
Josiah  and  Eliazer  to  have  and  to  hold  to  them  their  heirs  and 


GENEALOGICAL    NOTES    OF    BARNSTABLE    FAMILIES.        '201 

assignes  forever  :  Each  of  them  ye  s'd  Josiah  and  Eliazer  paying 
seven  pounds  and  ten  shillings  apiece  to  ye  s'd  Patience  in  paying 
of  ye  forty  pounds  above  mentioned.  And  I  further  will  and 
bequeath  to  my  sons  Josiah  and  Eliazer  to  each  of  them  one 
cow.  ' 

Itt.  I  will  and  bequeath  unto  my  son  Joseph  Crocker  (besides 
ye  two  parcels  of  upland  and  one  parcel  of  marsh  which  I  hereto- 
fore gave  him  and  is  known  to  be  in  his  possession  ye  house  and 
land  which  he  hired  of  me  and  now  lives  on)  that  is  to  say,  so 
much  of  my  s'd  land  as  he  hath  now  fenced  in  ;  together  with  that 
parcel  of  marsh  which  he  hath  from  year  to  year  of  late  hired  of 
me ;  to  have  and  to  hold  to  him  ye  s'd  Joseph  his  heirs  and 
assignes  forever :  he  or  they  paying  five  pounds  to  ye  s'd  Patience 
to  make  up  ye  full  of  s'd  forty  pounds  I  promised  to  her  as 
above  s'd. 

Itt.  I  give  and  bequeath  all  ye  rest  of  my  lands  att  ye  ponds 
to  my  grandsons,  viz  :  to  Nathaniel,  ye  son  of  John  Crocker, 
Samuel,  ye  son  of  Job  Crocker,  and  Thomas,  ye  son  of  Josiah 
Crocker  to  be  equally  divided  between  them  and  to  their  and  each 
of  their  heirs  and  assignes  forever. 

Itt.  my  will  is  and  I  do  hereby  constitute  and  appoint  my 
trusty  and  well  beloved  son  Job  Crocker  to  be  my  sole  executor  to 
see  this  my  last  will  and  testament  to  be  performed,  with  whom  I 
leave  all  ye  residue  of  my  estate  in  whatsoever  it  be,  to  be  equally 
distributed  amongst  all  my  children  unless  I  shall  signifie  my 
minde  to  have  such  part  or  parts  thereof  to  be  disposed  to  any  in 
particular. 

In  witness  whereof  I  have  hereunto  sett  my  hand  and  seal. 

On  my  further  consideration  I  signifie  my  mind  before  ye 
ensealing  hereof  and  it  is  my  will  that  Mr.  Russell  shall  have  my 
two  steers  which  are  att  Isaac  Howlands  and  that  Mr.  Thomas 
Hinckly  shall  have  my  nagro  boy  if  he  please  he  paying  fourteen 
pounds  to  my  Executor  for  him. 

WILLIAM  CROCKER.  [Seal.  J 

Signed  Sealed  and  declared 
In  presence  of 

SAMUEL  CHIPMAN, 
MERCY  CHIPMAN. 

Samuel  Chipman  and  Mercy  Chipman  whose  hands  are  sett 
as  witnesses  to  this  will  made  oath  in  Court  October  ye  19  :  1692, 
that  they  did  see  the  above  said  William  Crocker  now  deceased 
sign  seal  and  declare  this  above  written  to  be  his  last  will  and 
testament. 

JOSEPH  LOTHROP  :  c  1. 

Examined  and  duly  compared  with  ye  original  will  and  en- 
tered October  ye  22,  1692. 

Attest:  JOSEPH  LOTHROP,  Recorder. 


208        GENEALOGICAL    NOTES    OF    BARNSTABLE    FAMILIES. 

The  division  which  Deacon  Crocker  made  of  his  estate  in  the 
foregoing  will,  may  perhaps,  be  better  understood  by  the  follow- 
ing description  of  the  shares  of  each  of  his  five  sons.  Job  had 
the  estate  which  was  his  uncle  John's  homestead,  and  his  father 
therefore  gives  him  a  larg'er  proportion  of  his  estate,  not  imme- 
diately connected  with  the  West  Barnstable  farm. 

John  had  the  great  lot  of  his  uncle  John,  on  which  he  had  a 
house,  and  therefore,  there  was  no  immediate  need  that  he  should 
be  provided  for.  For  his  other  four  sons  he  had  provided  houses, 
or  they  had  built  on  his  land. 

The  present  road  running  north  from  the  "West  Barnstable 
Meeting  House,  to  the  Cape  Cod  Rail  Road  Depot,  divides  Dea. 
Crocker's  farm  into  two  nearly  equal  parts.  On  the  east  of  the 
road,  Josiah  had  the  south  part,  excepting  the  portion  given  to 
John,  and  Joseph  the  north.  On  the  west  side,  John  had  the 
south  part,  including  a  strip  running  north  to  the  meadows,  and  a 
strip  on  the  east,  adjoining  Josiah's  land,  where  Nathaniel 
Crocker  afterwards  lived,  and  Eleazer  the  north-westerly  part. 
A  question  arises  which  will  be  hereafter  considered,  and  that  is, 
whether  or  not  John's  portion  extended  far  enough  west  to  include 
the  old  stone  fort. 

Dea.  Crocker  died  in  good  old  age.  For  many  years  he  was 
deacon  of  the  Barnstable  Church,  and  living  an  exemplary  and 
pious  life.  He  has  a  clean  record.  Nothing  dishonest  or  dis- 
honorable was  ever  laid  to  his  charge.  Men  who  acquire  great 
wealth,  often  make  enemies  of  the  envioas ;  but  Dea.  Crocker 
appears  to  have  been  beloved  and  respected  by  all.  When  he 
removed  to  West  Barnstable,  the  lands  there  had  only  a  nominal 
value.  He  was  industrious,  economical,  and  a  good  manager. 
His  boys  were  as  industrious  and  as  prudent  as  the  father,  and 
that  was  the  whole  secret  of  their  becoming  wealthy.  In  early 
colonial  times  a  large  family  was  considered  a  great  blessing  in  a 
jjecuniary  point  of  view.  The  boys  assisted  the  father  on  the 
farm,  and  at  seventeen  were  able  to  do  the  work  of  a  man.  The 
girls  were  also  brought  up  to  more  than  earn  their  own  living. 
They  assisted  the  mother,  spun  and  wove  the  flax  and  the  wool, 
and  made  their  own  and  their  brother's  garments,  and  in  hay  time 
and  at  harvest  assisted  their  brothers.  A  man  with  a  large  family 
of  healthy  children  was  then  the  most  independent  of  men. 
From  his  farm  and  his  household  he  obtained  an  abundance  of  the 
prime  necessaries  of  life.  The  surplus  which  he  sold  was  more 
than  sufficient  to  pay  the  bills  of  the  mechanic,  and  to  buy  the 
few  articles  of  foreign  growth  and  manufacture  then  required. 
There  was  very  little  money  in  circulation,  and  very  little  was 
needed.  Taxes  were  payable  in  agricultural  products,  at  a  rate 
fixed  by  law,  and  if  lands  or  property  were  sold,  without  it  was 
expressly  stipulated  in  the  contract,  that  payment  should  be  made 


GENEALOGICAL    NOTES    OF    BARNSTABLE    FAMILIES.        209 

in  silver  money,  it  was  a  barter  trade,  payable  in  produce  at  the 
"prices  current  with  the  merchants." 

Aged  people  often  remark  that  theu-  ancestors  estimated  that 
every  son  born  to  them  added  to  their  wealth  a  £100,  and  of 
every  daughter  £50.  However  heterodox  this  theory  may  now 
appear  to  parents,  or  to  political  economists,  it  was  undoubtedly 
true  in  early  times.  The  Crocker's,  with  few  exceptions,  all  mar- 
ried in  early  life,  had  large  families,  and  excepting  the  few  who 
tried  to  live  by  trade  or  speculation,  acquired  good  estates,  lived 
comfortably,  and  were  respectable  and  honorable  members  of 
society. 

[The  genealogies  of  the  Crocker,  Gorham,  Hallett,  and 
several  other  families,  I  have  drawn  up  in  the  manner  recom- 
mended in  the  Genealogical  Register,  it  is  neccessary  to  transcribe 
them,  because  the  columns  of  a  newspaper  are  too  narrow  for 
such  kind  of  composition,  and  because  the  varieties  of  type 
required  are  not  kept  in  a  newspaper  office.  As  the  same  name 
so  frequently  occurs  in  the  Crocker  family,  I  shall  preserve  the 
serial  number  in  Arabic  or  common  figures,  using  the  Roman 
numerals  as  heretofore,  to  distinguish  members  of  the  same  fami- 
ly. John  and  Benjamin  are  names  that  frequently  occur,  and 
without  the  serial  numbers  it  will  be  diflScult  to  distinguish  them. 
At  one  time  there  were  four  John  Crocker's  in  Barnstable,  all 
householders  and  heads  of  families.  They  were,  from  necessity, 
distinguished  by  nick-names ;  but  the  use  of  the  serial  number 
will  render  the  repetition  of  those  names  unnecessary.] 

Family  of  Dea.    William  Crocker. 

Dea.  William  Crocker  married  for  his  first  wife,  Alice,  who 
was  the  mother  of  all  his  children.  She  was  living  in  1683,  but 
died  soon  after  that  date.  He  married  for  his  second  wife. 
Patience,  widow  of  Robert  Parker  and  daughter  of  Elder  Henry 
Cobb.  He  died  Sept.  1692,  aged  probably  80  years.  His 
children  were : 
2.       I.     John,  born  in  Scityiate  May  1,  1637,  baptized  June  11, 

1637. 
8.       II.     Elizabeth,  born  in  Scituate  Sept.  22,  1639,  baptized  in 

Barnstable,  Dec.  22,  1639.     She  was  his  only  daughter  and 

died  in  Barnstable  unmarried.  May  1658,  in  the  19th  year 

of  her  age. 

4.  III.     Samael,  born  in  Barnstable,  June  3,   1642,  baptized 
same  day.     He  died  Dec.  1681. 

5.  IV".  Job,  born  March  9,  1644-5,  baptized  same  day. 

6.  v.     Josiah,  born  Sept.  19,  1647,  baptized  same  day. 

It  seemed  improbable  that  Dea.  Crocker  had  three 
children  born  in  succession  on  the  sabbath,  and  that  each  was 
baptized  on  the  day  of  its  birth.     Mr.  Lothrop,  the  pastor  of  the 


210        GENEALOGICAL    NOTES    OF    BARNSTABLE    FAMILIES. 

church,  so  records  the  baptisms,  and  there  is  no  reason  to  question 
his  accuracy.  Gov.  Hinckley  so  makes  his  return  to  the  Colony 
Court,  and  David  Crocker,  Esq.,  one  of  the  early  town  clerks,  so 
transcribes  the  earlier  records.  A  single  instance  of  this  charac- 
ter was  noticed  in  the  family  of  Austin  Bearse,  (No.  12)  and  the 
comments  made  thereon  are  equally  applicable  to  this  case. 

7.  VI.     Eleazer,  born  July  21,  1650. 

8.  VII.  Joseph,  born  1654. 

2.  John  Crocker,  eldest  son  of  Dea.  William,  resided 
at  West  Barnstable.  His  father,  in  his  will,  gave  him  the  south- 
westerly part  of  his  farm,  and  the  dwelling-liouse  in  which  he 
then  lived.  John  Crocker  had,  at  tliat  time,  been  a  married  man 
thirty-three  years,  and  had  children  and  grand-children,  and 
owned  lands  and  a  dwelling-house  in  his  own  right,  independent 
of  the  property  bequeathed  to  him  by  his  father.  He  owned  the 
Bodfish  farm,  set  off  to  him  as  his  portion  of  his  uncle  John's 
estate,  on  which  there  was  a  dwelling  house.  One  half  of  that 
farm  he  conveyed  by  deed  to  his  son  Jonathan,  through  whom  it 
came  into  possession  of  the  Bodfish  family. 

The  lands  bequeathed  by  Dea.  William  to  his  son  Eleazer, 
are  not  clearly  defined  in  the  will.  Eleazer  owned  the  lands  south 
of  the  Dexter  farm,  on  Dexter's,  now  called  Fish's  Lane,  bounded 
west  by  the  land  of  Joseph  Bodfish,  Sen'r,  including  the  land  on 
which  the  Stone  Fort  stood.  I  infer  from  this,  that  the  house 
named  in  the  will  of  Dea.  William,  as  then  in  the  occupancy  of 
Eleazer,  was  the  old  iStone  Fort,  consequently  it  was  not  the 
house  given  to  his  son  John.  Anciently  there  was  another  stone 
house  on  the  Crocker  farm,  standing  about  a  fourth  of  a  mile 
easterly  from  the  West  Barnstable  Church.  This  was  probably 
built  about  the  year  1643,  and  as  it  was  on  his  first  grant  of  land 
at  West  Barnstable,  made  to  Dea.  William,  it  is  just  to  infer  that 
it  was  his  residence.  His  son  Josiah  afterwards  owned  it  and  the 
land  on  which  it  stood.  Seth,  a  grandson  of  Josiah,  built,  about 
the  year  1766,  a  large  and  convenient  dwelling  house  near  the  old 
stone  house,  in  which  he  had  previous!}'  resided.  Afterwards 
the  latter  was  used  as  an  out-building.  Seventy-five  years  ago  it 
was  in  a  ruinous  condition,  and  every  vestage  of  it  is  now  re- 
moved. It  corresponded  in  size  and  construction  to  the  fortifica- 
tion house  already  described.  Previously  to  his  death  Deacon 
William  built  and  resided  in  the  large  two  story  frame  house  on 
the  Meeting  House  way,  afterwards  owned  and  occupied  by  his 
grand-children,  Nathaniel  and  Experience.  They  came  into  the 
possession  of  it  soon  after  the  death  of  Dea.  William,  who 
devised  it  to  their  father  John,  after  the  death  of  his  widow 
Patience.  Neither  Nathaniel  nor  Experience  married.  Each 
owned  a  large  real-estate  and  had,  at  their  deaths,  money  on  hand 
and  money  loaned,  on  bonds  payable  in  silver  money.     In  1740 


GENEALOGICAL    NOTES    OF    BARNSTABLE    FAMILIES.         211 

the  house  required  repairs,  and  Experience,  before  her  death, 
provided  lumber,  nails,  &c.,  to  complete  the  same,  and  which  she 
directed  to  be  done  after  her  death.  This  house  was  taken  down 
about  fifty  years  ago.  The  style  was  that  of  the  first  settlers. 
Two  stories  in  front  and  one  in  the  rear. 

My  main  object  in  this  inquirey,  is  to  ascertain  from  records 
and  other  sources  of  information,  what  was  the  action  of  the 
townsmen  of  Barnstable  under  the  order  of  the  Colony  Court, 
dated  Oct.  10,  1643,  requiring  them  to  fortify  "a  place  or  places 
for  the  defence  of  themselves,  their  wives,  and  children,  against 
a  suddaine  assault."  The  committee  to  enforce  this  order,  were 
Mr.  Thomas  Dimmock,  Anthony  Annable,  Henry  Cobb,  Henry 
Coggen,  Barnard  Lumberd,  and  the  constable  James  Hamblen. 
The  three  deac(ms  of  the  church,  Dimmock,  Cobb  and  Crocker, 
each  complied  with  the  order  of  the  court,  built  fortification 
houses,  and  were  aided  by  theii'  neighbors,  because  in  case  of  a 
sudden  assault  by  the  Indians,  the  buildings  were  to  be  a  common 
place  for  refuge  for  all.  Who  built  the  stone  fort  on  Dexter's 
lane,  1  have  been  unable  to  ascertain.  In  1692  it  was  owned  and 
occupied  by  Eleazer  Crocker.* 

2.  John  Crocker,  the  second  of  the  name,  a  son  of  Dea. 
William  Crocker,  was  born  in  Scituate  May  1,  1637,  came  to 
Barnstable  with  his  father  1639.  Married  in  1659,  Mary,  daugh- 
ter of  Robert  Bodflsh.  She  died  Dec.  1662,  and  he  married 
April  25,  1663,  for  his  second  wife,  Mary,  daughter  of  John 
Bursley.  He  died  May  1711,  aged  74.  His  children  born  in 
Barnstable  were  : 

9.  I.  Elizabeth,  7th  Oct.  1660,  married  Dea.  Richard  Child 
1678,  died  Jan.  15,  1716,  aged  56.  Her  first  house  was 
next  west  of  Lieut.  Rowland's.  She  afterwards  resided 
as  named  in  the  account  of  her  family. 

10.  II.  Jonathan,  15tb  July,  1662,  married  Hannah,  daughter 
of  John  Howland,  20th  May,  1686.  He  died  Aug.  24, 
1746,  aged  84,  and  is  buried  in  the  West  Barnstable 
graveyard. 

11.  III.  John,  17th  Feb.  1663-4,  married  5th  Nov.  1702,  Mary, 
daughter  of  Nathaniel  Bacon.  She  died  March  1710-11, 
and  he  married  22d  June  1721,  Sarah  Hinckley.     This  John 

*  The  earliest  land  owners  in  the  vicinity  of  the  old  stone  fort,  were  William  Crocker, 
Joseph  Bodfish,  Peter  Blossom,  Mr.  Thomas  Dexter,  Edward  Fitzrandolph,  and  John 
Bursley.  The  old  stone  fort  was  impre^iable  against  any  lorce  that  the  Indians  could 
raise,  and  it  is  sui-prising  that  its  history  is  buried  in  oblivion.  Perhaps  some  future  inves- 
tigator may  be  more  successful  than  I  have  been.  In  Yarmouth  a  fort  was  built  near  the 
Cong.  Meeting  House,  ou  a  rising  ground  known  as  "±"ort  Hill,"  and  in  the  easterly  part  of 
the  town,  on  land  owned  by  the  late  Capt.  Samuel  Rogers,  a  block  house.  That  house  was 
formerly  owned  by  TJlomas  Baxterr  Capt.  Rogers,  who  took  it  down  in  1810,  furnishes  me 
with  the  following  description.  "It  was  about  20  feet  by  28  feet  square,  walls  of  hewn  tim- 
ber, one  storv  high,  gambrel  roof,  windows  small,  diamond  glass  set  in  lead,  chimney  stone 
to  chamber  floor,  brick  above,  all  laid  in  clay  mortar.  Bricks  large ;  partially  burnt,  Fire- 
place in  front  room,  eight  feet  wide,  with  a  stone  hearth.  Shingles  on  the  walls  and  roof 
cedar,  long,  and  an  inch  thick.  Boards  used  apparently  sawed  by  hand."  Fortification 
houses  were  also  built  in  Sandwich.    See  Freeman's  History. 


212        GENEALOGICAL    NOTES    OF    BARNSTABLE    FAMILIES. 

is  called  Jr.,  on  the  early  records,  and  his  father  Sen'r. 
He  resided  on  the  west  side  of  the  road,  a  short  distance 
north  from  the  present  meeting  house. 

12.  IV.  Hannah,  10th  Oct.  1665,  married  1st  July,  1686, 
Samuel  Lothrop,  a  grandson  of  Rev.  John. 

13.  V.  Joseph,  1st  March,  166T-8,  married  18th  Sept.  1691, 
Ann,  daughter  of  Lieut.  John  Howland. 

14.  VI.  Benjamin,  probably  died  young.  He  is  not  named  in 
his  father's  will  dated  30th  April,  1706,  or  in  the  division  of 
his  brother  Jabez's  estate,  April  3,  1700. 

15.  VII.    Nathaniel,  born  1773.      He  died  Feb.  11,  1740-1,  in 
the  69th  year  of  his  age,  leaving  neither  wife  nor  children. 
In  1715  his  house  is  described  as  being  near  the  head  of 

the  lane,  on  the  east  side,  and  north  of  the  land  on  which  the 
West  Barnstable  church  now  stands.  (Blue)  John  Crocker  after- 
wards owned  it,  and  subsequently  the  same  estate  was  owned  by 
the  late  Stephen  C.  Nye,  deceased.  He  owned  only  two  fifteenths 
of  the  house,  his  sister  Experience  owning  the  other  thirteen 
fifteenths.  His  estate  was  apprized  at  £2,003  10  10.  Silyer  at 
that  time  was  worth  28  shillings  per  ounce.  His  homestead  was 
apprized  at  £1,100.  He  had  92  ounces  of  silver  on  hand,  and 
£266,5  due  him  in  silver,  at  his  death.  He  left  no  will,  and  his 
own  brothers  and  sisters  contended  that  Jonathan  Crocker  and 
Elizabeth  Child's  heirs,  being  only  of  the  half  blood,  were  not 
entitled  to  shares.  The  Judge  of  Probate,  Hon.  Sylvanous 
Bourne,  in  a  very  able  report  on  the  law,  decided  that  they  were 
equally  entitled,  and  ordered  the  estate  to  be  divided  into  seven 
shares,  and  distributed  to  1,  Jonathan  Crocker;  2,  heirs  of 
Elizabeth  Childs ;  3,  Mrs.  Mary  Bursley,  surviving  sister ;  4, 
Children  of  Capt.  Joseph  Crocker,  deceased ;  5,  Children  of 
Hannah  Lothrop,  deceased ;  6,  Children  of  John  Crocker, 
deceased  ;  and  7,  to  heirs  of  Experience  Crocker  deceased. 

16.  VIII.  Experience,  born  in  1674,  died  single,  April  17, 
1740-1,  in  the  67th  year  of  her  age,  and  is  buried  in  the 
West  Barnstable  graveyard.  She  owned  thirteen  fifteenths, 
and  her  brother  Nathaniel  two  fifteenths,  of  the  ancient 
dwelling  house  of  her  grandfather,  which  has  already  been 
described.  Besides  the  estate  bequeathed  to  her  by  her 
father,  she  accumulated  a  considerable  amount  by  her  own 
industry  and  prudence.  Her  estate  was  apprized  at  £588 
14.  Her  silver  plate  were  valued  at  £69  14  :  50  ounces  at 
the  current  rate  of  silver  at  that  time.  In  her  will  she 
makes  bequests  to  her  brothers  Jonathan  and  Joseph ;  to 
her  sister  Mary  Bursley ;  to  the  children  of  her  sister 
Elizabeth  Childs,  deceased  ;  to  Benjamin,  son  of  her  brother 
Joseph  ;  to  Benjamin  and  Samuel,  sons  of  her  "^sister  Han- 
nah Lothrop  ;  to  Moses,  son  of  her  brother  John  ;  to  Mary 


GENEALOGICAL    NOTES    OF    BARNSTABLE    FAMILIES.        213 

Davis,  daughter  of  her  sister  Hannah  Lothrop  ;  to  Deborah, 
daughter  of  her  brother  Joseph ;  to  John,  son  of  her 
nephew  Moses  ;  to  Elizabeth,  daughter  of  her  brother  John  ; 
to  Joseph  Lothrop,  son  of  her  nephew  Joseph,  deceased  ;  to 
the  poor  of  the  church  of  which  she  was  a  member ;  to  the 
church  in  West  Barnstable ;  and  to  John,  son  of  the  Rev. 
Jonathan  Russell.  To  her  brother  John's  son  John,  (called 
Blue  John  Crocker)  she  bequeathed  the  lower  great  room 
in  her  house,  the"  bed  room  and  the  garret,  and  materials  to 
put  the  house  in  good  repair.  The  remainder  of  the  house 
she  bequeathed  to  her  neice  Hannah  Lothrop,  a  single 
woman,  then  fifty  years  of  age.  All  the  rest  of  her  estate 
she  gave  to  her  sister  Mary  Bursley,  Experience  Lothrop, 
Hannah  Lothrop,  Abigail  Lothrop,  and  Prudence  Gorham, 
wife  of  John  Gorham,  Esq.,  and  daughter  of  Joseph 
Crocker. 

Miss  Experience  had  scjme  of  the  good  qualities  of  the 
Vicar  of  Wakefield's  wife.  He  said  all  his  wife's  cousins 
even  to  the  fortieth  remove,  never  forget  their  relationship, 
and  never  passed  his  door  without  calling,  and  his  table  was 
always  well  filled  with  a  happy  company. 

17.  IX.  Jabez,  died  in  1700,  without  issue,  and  his  estate  was 
divided  among  his  brothers  and  sisters,  by  the  same  father 
and  mother,  then  surviving. 

18.  X.     Mary,  married  Feb,  11,  1702,  John  Bursley,  Jr. 

19.  XI.  Abigail.  Her  birth  is  not  recorded  on  the  town 
records.     She  died  young,  leaving  no  issue. 

20.  XII.     Bathshua,  also  died  young,  leaving  no  issue. 

Of  the  children  of  John  Crocker,  his  son  Joseph  is  the  last 
whose  birth  is  recorded  on  the  town  records.  The  names  of  the 
others  are  arranged  in  the  order  found  on  the  Probate  records. 

4.  Samuel  Crocker,  son  of  Dea.  William  Crocker,  born  in 
Barnstable  July  3,  1642,  died  Dec.  1681,  aged  39.  It  does  not 
appear  that  he  married.  If  he  had  left  issue,  his  children  would 
probably  have  been  named  in  their  grandfather's  will.  The  cause 
of  his  death  is  stated  in  the  following  extract  from  the  Plymouth 
Colony  Records,  Vol.  6,  page  82. 

An  Inditement. 

"Indian  James,  thou  art  here  indited  by  the  name  of  James, 
for  that  thou,  haveing  not  the  fear  of  God  before  thyne  eyes,  on 
the  one  and  twentyeth  day  of  November  1681,  in  the  town  of 
Barnstable,  didst  felloniously,  willfully,  and  of  mallice  fore- 
thought, with  intent  to  murder,  kick  Samuel  Crocker,  son  of 
William  Crooker,  of  Barnstable,  on  the  bottom  of  his  belley, 
whereof  the  said  Samuel  Crocker  three  weeks  after  died ;  which 
thou  hast  don  contrary  to  the  law  of  God,  of  England,  and  this 
collonie,  and  contrary  to  the  peace  of  our  sou.'r  Lord  the  Kinge, 


214        GENEALOGICAL    NOTES    OF    BAKNSTABLE    FAMILIES. 

his  crowne,  and  dignity. 

The  jury  find  the  prisenor  nott  guilty  of  willfull  murder." 

No  Indians  were  on  the  jury,  as  was  the  usual  practice  in 
such  cases  ;  and  the  verdict  of  the  jury  shows  that  impartial  jus- 
tice was  dispensed  by  our  ancesters  irrespective  of  caste  or  race. 
Against  Indian  James  no  further  proceedings  appear  on  the 
records. 

5.  Dea.  Job.  Crocker.  Few  men  in  Barnstable  were  held 
in  higher  esteem  in  his  day,  than  Dea.  Job  Crocker.  Like  his 
father,  he  was  honest  and  upright  in  his  dealing,  industrious  and 
prudent  in  his  habits,  an  obliging  neighbor,  a  good  citizen. 
Nurtured  by  pious  parents,  in  early  life  he  became  a  member  of 
the  church,  and  through  life,  his  daily  walk  was  in  accordence 
with  his  profession.  The  church  records  say  of  him,  "God  and 
his  people  having  elected  and  proved  our  Brother  Job  Crocker, 
for  the  office  of  deacon  in  this  church,  he  was  solomnly  set  a  part 
for,  and  ordained  unto  that  work  and  office  iu  July  1684  ;  to 
serve  in  the  deaconship  of  this  church,  together  with  his  father." 
For  eight  years,  during  the  pastorate  of  the  elder  Russell,  he  and 
his  venerable  father  were  joint  occupants  of  the  deacon's  seat. 
It  is  inscribed  on  his  grave  stones,  that  for  thirty  and  four  years 
he  was  a  deacon  of  the  Barnstable  church. 

Dea.  Job  Crocker  was  a  man  of  good  business  capacity, 
was  much  employed  in  the  business  of  the  town,  holding  many 
offices  which  it  is  unnecessary  here  to  enumerate.  He  inhabited 
the  homestead  of  his  uncle  John,  rocky  and  hard  to  cultivate, 
but  an  excellent  grazing  farm.  The  substantial  stone  walls  built 
thereon  in  his  day,  remain  as  monuments  of  his  industry  and 
perseverance.  His  house,  a  large  two  story  structiu-e,  built  in  the 
fashion  of  that  day  with  a  heavy  cornice  in  front,  and  a  long  low 
or  leantoo  roof  on  the  rear,  yet  remains.*  It  is  situate  near  the 
meadows  and  in  close  proximity  to  the  Cape  Cod  Railroad.  The 
first  location  of  the  road  was  between  the  house  and  spring  from 
which  seven  successive  generations  of  Crockers  had  drawn  water. 
Out  of  respect  to  the  then  venerable  occupants,  the  location  was 
changed  to  a  point  below,  a  concession  rarely  made  by  engineers. 

Dea.  Job  Crocker  married  for  his  first  wife,  Nov.  1668, 
Mary,  daughter  of  Rev.  Thomas  Walley,  the  then  pastor  of  the 
Barnstable  church.  She  was  born  in  London  and  there  baptized 
April  18,  1644.  She  came  over  with  her  father  in  the  ship 
Society,   Capt.   John  Pierce,  and  arrived  in  Boston  24th  of  the 


*  Some  doubt  may  arise  whetlier  or  not  Dea.  Job  occupied  the  western  or  the  eastern 
house.  He  occupied  the  most  ancient,  that  is  certain,  and  the  decision  of  the  question 
turns  on  this  point;  was  the  westeni,  tlie  one  now  standing,  the  most  ancient.  The  first 
settlers,  with  scarce  a  solitary  exception,  planted  pear  trees  near  their  houses  and  these  old 
button  and  fall  pear  trees  are  their  monuments.  The  trees  near  the  western  house  were 
vei-y  ancient,  while  those  near  the  eastern  were  smaller  and  not  so  old.  The  eastern  house 
was  a  two  story  siugrle  house  built  in  the  style  common  about  one  hundred  and  forty  years 
ago.  It  was  taken  down  aboiit  forty  years  ago.  It  was  occupied  by  David  Crocker,  Ksq., 
son  of  Job,  and  I  presume  was  built  by  him. 


GENEALOGICAL    NOTES    OF    BARNSTABLE    FAMILIES.        215 

3d  month  (May)  1662.     She  died  about  the  year  1676,  leaving 
two  children. 

For  his  second  wife  he  married,  19th  July  1680,  Hannah, 
daughter  of  Richard  Taylor  of  Yarmouth,  called  "tailor"  to  dis- 
tinguish him  from  another  of  the  same  Christian  name.  He  died 
March  1718-19,  aged  75  years,  and  is  buried  in  the  ancient  bury- 
ing ground.  His  wife  Hannah  surviyed  him,  and  died  14th  May 
1743,  in  the  85th  year  of  her  age.  In  her  will  dated  10th  of  July 
1739,  proved  8th  July  1743,  she  names  her  grandsons  in  law, 
Thomas  and  WaUey  Crocker,  her  daughters  Mary  Howland, 
Hannah,  Elizabeth  Allen,  and  Sarah  Lumbert ;  her  sons  John 
Crocker,  David  Crocker,  and  Job,  deceased  ;  Mary,  wife  of  Isaac 
Howland  ;  Abigail,  wife  of  Geo.  Howland  ;  Hannah,  daughter  of 
her  son  David  ;  grand-daughter  Hannah  Allen  ;  and  her  grand-son 
John  Howland. 

Children  of  Dea.  Job  Crocker. 

21.  I.     A  son,  born  18,  1769,  died  in  infancy. 

22.  II.  Samuel,  15th  May,  1671,  married  Dec.  10,  1696, 
Sarah,  daughter  of  Robert  Parker,  and  for  his  second  wife, 
April  12,  1719,  .Judeth  Leavet,  of  Rochester. 

23.  III.  Thomas,  19th  Jan.  1674,  married  23d  Dec.  1701, 
Elizabeth,  widow  of  "John  Lothrop,  the  son  of  Esquire 
Barnabas  Lothrop." 

24.  IV.  Mary,  born  29th  June,  1681,  married  June  19,  1719, 
.John  Howland,  Jr.,  his  second  wife,  and  had  John,  13th 
Feb.  1720-21,  graduate  of  Harvard  College  1741,  ordained 
at  Carver,  1746,  died  Nov.  4,  1804,  aged  84 ;  and  a  son 
Job,  June  1726. 

25.  V.     John,  24th  Feb.  1683,  called  Dea.  John. 

26.  VI.  Hannah,  2d  Feb.  1685.  [A  Hannah  Crocker  of 
Barnstable,  married  July  7,  1712,  John  Holden  of  War- 
wick.] 

27.  VII.  Elizabeth,  15th  May,  1688,  married  April  5,  1712, 
Rev.  Benjamin  Allen,  a  native  of  Tisbury,  Martha's  Vine- 
yard. He  graduated  at  Yale  College  1708,  ordained  July 
9,  1718,  as  the  first  misister  of  the  south  parish  in  Bridge- 
water,  where  he  remained  about  twelve  years.  He  was 
afterwards  installed  at  Cape  Elizabeth  where  he  died  May 
6,  1754,  aged  65.  He  was  improvident  in  his  habits  and  in 
consequence  often  involved  in  troubles.  One  of  his  grand- 
daughters by  the  name  of  Jourdan,  married  Rev.  Enos 
Hitchcock,  D.  D.,  of  Providence. 

28.  VIII.  Sarah,  born  19th  Jan.  1690-1,  married  May  27, 
1725,  Benjamin  Lumbard,  Jr.,  died  Nov.  1768,  aged  76, 
leaving  no  issue. 

29.  IX.  Job,  4th  April  1694,  died  May  21,  1731,  aged  37. 
He  did  not  marrv. 


216        GENEALOGICAL    NOTES    OP    BARNSTABLE    FAMILIES. 

30.  X.  David,  born  oth  Sept.  1697,  graduate  of  Harvard  Col- 
lege 1716,  married  12th  Nov.  1724,  Abigail,  daughter  of 
David  Loring,  and  Jan.  27,  1767,  Mrs.  Abigail  Stuart.  He 
died  in  1764,  aged  67. 

31.  XI.     Thankful,  born  14th  June,  1700,  died  unmarried  Oct. 

1,  1735. 

6.  Josiah  Crocker,  son  of  Dea.  William,  born  Sept.  19, 
1647,  was  a  substantial  farmer,  and  resided  in  the  old  stone 
house  built  by  his  father.  He  inherited  the  southeasterly  part  of 
his  father's  estate.  In  the  proprietor's  records,  it  is  stated  that 
his  heirs  owned  a  house  at  Cotuit ;  whether  or  not  it  was  ever 
occupied  by  him,  I  have  no  means  of  ascertaining.  At  the  divis- 
ion of  the  common  meadows  in  1697,  lie  was  one  of  the  five  to 
whom  was  awarded  seven  acres,  showing  that  he  was  a  man  of 
wealth.  In  1690  there  was  laid  out  to  him  at  Cotuit  Neck,  forty 
acres  of  land  formerly  the  great  lot  of  John  Hall,  and  thirty  acres 
formerly  the  lot  of  Thomas  and  Peter  Blossom.  In  1698  he 
exchanged  twenty-seven  acres  of  his  land  at  Cotuit  Neck  with 
the  town,  taking  land  at  the  same  place  adjoining  Lewis's  Pond, 
now  called  Lovell's  Pond. 

In  1688  the  town  granted  him  one  and  a  half  acres  of  upland  on 
the  south  of  his  barn,  bounded  north  and  east  by  his  other  land, 
south  and  west  by  the  commons.  He  was  not  much  in  public  life. 
He  is  named  as  a  member  of  the  grand  inquest  in  1679,  and  was 
surveyor  of  highways  in  1682.  He  married  23d  Oct.  1668, 
Melatiah,  daughter  of  Gov.  Thomas  Hinckley.  He  died  2d  Feb. 
1698-9  aged  51  years.  In  his  will  dated  on  the  28th  of  the 
preceding  month,  he  names  his  wife  Melatiah,  sons  Thomas, 
Josiah,  Ebenezer,  Seth,  Benjamin,  and  daughters,  Mercy,  Mary, 
Else,  and  Melatiah. 

The  Wid.  Melatiah  Crocker  died  2d  Feb.  1714-15,  aged  66 
years.  In  her  will  dated  Jan.  21,  1613-14,  she  names  her  five 
sons ;  and  daughters  Mary,  Alice,  and  Melatiah  ;  also  daughter 
Hannah  (wife  of  her  son  Thomas)  and  her  grand-daughter 
Tabitha. 

Children  horn  in  Barnstable. 

31.  I.     A  son,  born  20th  Aug.  1669,  died  Sept.  1669. 

32.  II.     Thomas,   born   27th   May   1671,   married    25th   March 

1696,  Hannah  Green  of  Boston.     He  died  April  1728,  aged 
57  years. 

33.  III.     Mercy,  born  13th  Feb.  1674,  died  in  early  life. 

34.  IV.  Mary,  born  10th  Sept.  1677,  married  Nov.  1705,  her 
cousin  William  Crocker. 

35.  y.  Alice,  born  25th  Dec.  1679,  married  14th  June  1711, 
George  Lewis.  She  died  23d  Feb.  1718.  Alice  does  not 
appear  to  have  been  a  favorite  name  with  the  Crockers. 
This  is  the  only  grand-child  of  the  name,  and  she  did  not 


GENEALOGICAL    NOTES    OF    BARNSTABLE    FAMILIES.         317 

give  the  name  to  either  of  her  daughters. 

36.  VI.  Melatiah,  born  20th  Nov.  1681,  married  Oct.  27,  1729, 
her  cousin  Timothv  Crocker. 

37.  VII.  Josiah,  born  8th  Feb.  1684,  married  April  10,  1711, 
Desii-e,  daughter  of  Col.  John  Thacher. 

38.  VIII.  Ebenezer,  bom  30th  May,  1687,  married  22d 
March,  1715,  Hannah  Hall  of  Yarmouth. 

39.  IX.  Seth,  born  23d  Sept.  1689,  died  in  Harwich,  1623, 
leaving  no  issue.  His  brother  Benjamin  of  Ipswich,  was 
executor  of  his  will. 

40.  X.  Benjamin,  born  26th  Sept.  1692,  graduate  of  Harvard 
College  1713.  He  removed  to  Ipswich,  Mass.,  and  was 
many  years  teacher  of  the  Grammar  School  in  that  town. 
He  was  a  representative  from  Ipswich  to  the  Mass.  Gen. 
Court  in  1726,  '34  and  '36.  He  was  a  member  of  the  south 
church  in  that  town ;  but  as  the  individuals  chosen  for  its 
Ruling  Elders  were  not  ordained,  because  Mr.  Walley,  the 
pastor,  did  not  believe  such  officers  were  required  by  the 
gospel,  he  left,  and  united  with  the  first  church.  He  was  a 
deacon  and  occasionally  preached.  He  married  Elizabeth, 
daughter  of    Rev.   William  Williams  of  Weston,   and  had 

Mary,  who  married Gannison,  and  John,  a  deacon  of 

the  chui'ch  and  a  man  of  note  in  his  day.  Dea.  Benjamin 
Crocker  died  in  1766,  aged  75,  and  his  wife  who  survived 
him  married Cogswell,  t 

7.  Eleazer  Crocker,  son  of  Dea.  William  Crocker,  born  in 
Barnstable  21st  July  1650,  was  admitted  a  townsman  in  1681. 
In  1692  he  was  one  of  the  committee  appointed  to  draw  up  a  list 
of  the  proprietors  of  the  common  lands,  and  determine  what 
was  each  man's  just  right  therein.  After  the  death  of  Nathaniel 
Bacon  in  1693,  he  was  "chosen  and  empowered  by  the  town  to  be 
a  land  measurer  to  lay  out  land."  He  married  7th  April  1682, 
Ruth,  daughter  of  Elder  John  Chipman.  She  died  8th  April 
1698,  aged  34.  For  his  second  wife  he  married  Jan.  25,  1716-17, 
Mercy  Phinney. 

Children  of  Eleazer  Crocker. 

41.  I.     Benoni,  born  13th  May,   1682,  died  3d  Feb.  1701. 

42.  II.  Bethia,  born  23d  Sept.  1683,  married  John  Whiton 
March  13,  1710. 

43.  III.  Nathan,  born  27th  April,  1685,  married  10th  March, 
1708-9,  Joanna,  daughter  of  John  Bursley,  and  the  Barn- 

t  Alvah  Crocker,  Esq.,  of  Fitchburg,  in  a  letter  says  that  "upon  one  of  the  oldest 
Grave  Stones  in  St.  Anns  Church  Yard,  Newburyport,  he  finds  this  inscription,  *Capt. 
John  Crocker  born  in  1692,  died  March  19, 1763.' "  This  Capt.  John  Crocker  ivaa  the  great 
^andfather  of  Alvah  Crocker,  Esq.,  and  if  the  inscription  on  his  Grave  Stone  is  accur- 
ately transcribed  he  was  not  a  son  of  Benjamin  of  Ipswich.  Mr.  Crocker  says  the  tradition 
in  his  family,  is  that  he  is  a  descendant  of  Dea.  William,  but  as  at  present  advised  X  do  not 
preceive  how  the  tradition  can  be  verified. 


46. 

VI. 

47. 

VII. 

48. 

VIII. 

1718 

49. 

IX. 

218        GENEAIiOGIOAt   NOTES    OF  BARNSTABLE    PAMffilES. 

stable  records,  say.  lie.  also,  married  Abigail  Bursley  Mardii 
10,  1713-14,  eyideatly  an  error  of  the  Clerk. 

44.  IV.     Daniel,  born  23d  March,  1686-7,  died  without  issue 
1723. 

45.  V.     Sarah,  born,  23^  March,   1689,  married  Nov.  7,  1712^ 
Joseph  Bursley. 

Theophilus,  born  11th  March,  1691. 
Eleazer,  born  3d  Aug.  1693. 
Ruth,  born    3d  Aug.  1693,  married  Samuel  Fuller 

Abel,  born  15th  June,  1695,  married  April  16,  1818: 
Mary  Isum.  The  names  of  his  children  do  not  appear  on 
the  town  records.  His  wife  joined  the  church  Dec.  1723, 
when  her  son  Daniel  and  daughter  Rebecca  were  baptized, 
and  Aug.  1725,  her  son  Eleazer.  Soon  after  the  latter  date, 
the  family  removed  to  Plymton,  and  returned  1757. 

50.  X.     Rebecca,  born  10th  Dec.  1697,  married Robbins.. 

51.  XI.     Mercy,  by  his  second  wife,  and  named  in  his  will. 

8.  Sergeant  Joseph  Crocker,  youngest  son  of  Dea.  William,, 
born  in  1654,  resided  at  West  Barnstable.  He  inherited  the 
north-easterly  part  of  his  father's  farm,  bounded  easterly  by  the. 
Otis  and  Hinckley  estates.  That  portion  of  the  ancient  Crocker 
estate,  on  the  north  of  the  County  road  and  bounded  easterly  by 
the  lands  of  Mr.  John  Smith,  was  not  included  in  his  estate.* 
His  house  was  on  the  Meeting  House  road,  if  I  construe  the 
records  rightly,  not  far  from  the  present  location  of  the  Cape 
Cod  Railroad  Depot.  A  reservation  of  three  rods  in  width 
through  his  lands  was  made  for  that  road.  In  1703  he  was  rated 
the  highest,  and  probably  was  the  most  wealthy  man  in  Barn- 
stable. He  was  admitted  a  townsman  in  1 678 ;  but  does  not 
appear  to  have  been  often  employed  in  town  or  other  public  busi- 
ness. He  was  a  sergeant  in  the  militia  company,  than  an  office 
of  some  honor.  In  his  will  dated  20th  Feb.  1720-1,  he  gives  to 
his  wife  Temperance  all  his  personal  estate,  and  the  use  and 
improvement  of  all  his  real  estate  during  her  natur-al  life.  In 
most  of  the  old  wills  the  phrase  used  is,  "while  she  remains  my 
widow,"  on  the  presumption  that  the  husband  can  bind  the  wife, 
after  his  decease. 

To  his  four  daughters  he  devised  all  his  lands  and  meadows 
lying  by  the  mill  river  ;  to  his  son  William,  "all  his  housing  and 


*The  same  rule  was  adopted  in  Barnstable  and  Tarmouth  in  the  division  of  the  common 
lands ;  that  is,  one  third  to  the  townsmen,  one  third  on  the  estates,  and  one  third  to  the  tene- 
ments. In  Barnstable  only  the  ^oss  number  of  shares  alloted  to  each  is  recorded ;  in  Yar- 
mouth the  several  particulars  are  ^ven.  Joseph  Crocker  had  80  shares,  James  Gorham  74 
3-4,  John  Hamblin  71  3-4,  .James  Hamblin,  Sen'r,  69,  &c.  It  will  thus  be  perceived  why  it 
was  that  our  ancestors,  were  so  cautious  in  admitting  townsmen.  It  not  only  conferred  all 
the  rights  appertaining  to  a  citizen;  but  made  the  party  a  proprietor  of  the  common  lands. 
If  a  house  stood  on  the  common  land,  the  owner  was  not  entitled  to  a  tenement  right.  To 
confer  the  right,  the  house  had  to  be  on  the  land  of  the  individual,  and  the  title  acquired 
by  liim  according  to  the  usuagea  of  the  times. 


GENEALOGICAL    NOTES   OF    BAKNSTABLE    FAMILIES.        219 

lands  where  he  then  dwelt,"  and  all  his  wood  lots  ;  and  to  Timothy 
"all  his  lands  in  the  timber  lands,  at  a  place  called  Great  Hill,  all 
subject  to  the  use  and  improvement  of  their  mother  during  her 
natural  life.  Noah  is  not  named  in  the  will,  and  was  probably 
then  dead. 

Joseph  Crocker  married  Deo.  1677,  Temperance,  daughter 
of  John  Bursley.  She  survived  her  husband  many  years  and  died 
very  aged. 

Children  born  in  Barnstable. 

52.  I.     William,  born  25th  Aug.  1679,  married  Nov.  1705,  his 
cousin  Mary  Crocker. 

53.  II.     Timothy,  born  30th  April  1681,  married  Oct.  27,  1709, 
his  cousin  Melatiah  Crocker.* 

54.  III.     Noah,  born  Dec.  1683,  died  young. 

55.  IV.     Joanna,  born  18th  July  1687,  married  9th  Feb.  1708-9, 
Joseph  Fuller,  Jr.,  died  April  13,  1766. 

56.  V.     Martha,  born  22d  Feb.  1689. 

57.  VI.     Temperance,  26th  Aug.  1694. 

58.  VII.     Remember,  26th  Aug.  1699,  married  Samuel  Annable, 
3d,  May  28,  1719. 

Third  Generation. 
(10)  Jonathan  Crocker,  son  of  John,  owned  the  laild  now 
known  as  the  Bodfish  Farm  at  West  Barnstable.  He  was  a  sub- 
stantial farmer,  owned  a  large  estate ;  and,  as  his  father  and 
grand-father  had  done,  he  conveyed  by  deeds  a  large  part  of  it  to 
his  children,  reserving  only,  a  sufficiency  for  his  comfortable  sup- 
port in  old  age.  His  residence  on  the  Bodflsh  Farm,  probablj' 
built  by  his  father,  was  a  two  story  single  house,  with  a  leantoo, 
or  "salt  box,"  as  they  were  sometimes  called,  on  the  side.  This 
he  sold  in  1713  to  his  son-in-law,  Benjamin  Bodflsh.  It  was 
taken  down  in  1819,  and  the  old  Bodfish  mansion  house  stands  on 
the  same  spot.f  His  will,  which  is  in  the  hand  writing  of  the 
Rev.  Jonathan  Russell,  is  dated  June  1737,  and  the  codicil  thereto 

*  Physiologists  may  perhaps  notice  these  two  instances  of  the  marriage  of  cousins. 
■William  and  Mary  had  eight  children.  One  was  still  bom,  and  one  died  aged  21  days. 
Of  the  other  six,  none  were  distinguished  either  for  phj^sical  or  intellectual  vigor.  Timothy 
and  Melatiah  had  five  daughters,  distinguished  for  their  intellectual  vigor,  graceful  accom- 
plishments, and  business  capacity.  Beautiful  specimens  of  embroidery  wrought  b^  them 
are  preserved  by  their  descendants.  A  few  years  since  a  gentleman  well  versed  in  the 
genealogies  of  the  Nantucket  ^milies,  attempted  to  show  that  the  marriage  of  cousins  was 
not  objectionable,  and  he  made  out  a  strong  case. 


t  Since  writing  the  above  I  have  examined  the  records  of  the  grants  of  land  made  in 
1716.  There  is  great  want  of  cleanness,  in  the  descriptions.  The  records  says,  "Set  out  to 
Jonathan  Crocker,  a  piece  of  land  at  the  head  of  his  own,  bounded  westerly  by  the  way 
that  goeth  up  by  his  house,  northerly  by  his  own  land  to  the  dividing  line  between  him  and 
.John  Crocker."  John  Crocker's  land  is  bounded  "easterly,"  evidently  should  be 
westerly,  by  Jonathan's,  and  easterly  by  the  way  to  Nathaniel  Crocker's.  Out  of  this 
grant  the  three  acres  on  which  the  west  Barnstable  meeting  house  now  stand»  was 
reserved.  The  reservation  was  made  in  the  grant  to  Thomas ;  but  appears  to  have  been 
taken  from  John's.  It  seems  by  this  that  Jonathan  Crocker's  house  in  1716,  was  on 
Dexter's  Lane,  and  whether  he  ever  resided  in  the  house  he  sold  t«  Bodfish  is  not  clear. 


220       GENEALOGICAL   NOTES   OF   BARNSTABLE    FAMILIES. 

June  1742,  four  years  before  his  death.  He  provides  for  the 
support  of  his  wife  Thankful,  giving  her  the  household  goods  she 
brought  with  her,  and  some  bedding  she  had  made  since.  He  gave 
his  son  Isaac  £30  and  his  great  chair,  names  his  son  James,  and 
James'  oldest  son,  to  whom  he  gave  his  gun.  To  the  Rev. 
Jonathan  Russell  he  devised  20  shillings  ;  to  the  church  20  shil- 
lings ;  and  to  Mercy  Dexter  then  living  with  him  £5.  All  the 
rest  of  his  estate,  real  and  personal,  to  the  children  of  his  three 
daughters,  Lydia,  Hannah  and  Reliance.  In  the  codicil  to  his 
will  he  gives  the  estate  which  had  fallen  to  him  by  the  death  of 
his  brother  Nathaniel,  equally,  in  five  shares,  to  his  sons  Isaac 
and  James,  to  the  children  and  heirs  of  his  daughter  Lydia  Bod- 
flsh,  deceased,  to  the  children  and  heirs  of  his  daughter  Hannah 
Fuller,  and  to  the  children  and  heirs  of  his  daughter  Reliance 
Smith,  deceased.  At  the  time  he  made  his  will  all  his  children, 
excepting  Isaac  and  James,  were  dead,  and  they  resided  in  Con- 
necticut. 

Jonathan  Crocker  man-ied  for  his  first  wife,  20th  May,  1686, 
Hannah,  daughter  of  Lieut.  John  Rowland.  She  was  the  mother 
of  all  his  children.  After  her  death  he  married  Feb.  1710-11, 
Thankful,  widow  of  Mr.  John  Hinckley,  Jr.,  and  daughter  of 
Thomas  Trott  of  Dorchester.  He  died  Aug.  24,  1746,  aged  84, 
and  i8«t)uried  in  the  West  Barnstable  grave  yard.  No  monuments 
are  erected  to  the  memory  of  either  of  his  wives. 
Children  born  in  Barnstable. 

59.  I.  Lydia,  born  26th  Sept.  1686,  man-ied  Benjamin  Bodfish, 
10th  Nov.  1709. 

60.  II.  Hannah,  born  26th  March  1688,  married  10th  7th 
month,  1708,  Shubael  Fuller,  of  East  Haddam,  Conn.,  and 
removed  thither. 

61.  III.     Thankful,  born  6th  March,  1690,  died  young. 

62.  IV.  Isaac,  born  April  4,  1692,  married  Dec.  13,  1718, 
Ann  Smith,  and  removed  to  East  Haddam,  Conn.,  where 
she  died  June  1725,  aged  30.  Oct.  31,  1726,  he  married 
for  his  second  wife  Elizabeth  Fuller  of  Barnstable.  In 
1 729  he  removed  to  Westchester,  in  the  town  of  Colchester. 
He  died  Aug.  8,  1769,  at  4  o'clock  P.  M.,  aged  77  years,  4 
months,  and  8  days. 

Children  of  Isaac  Crocker  born  in  East  Haddam,  Conn. 

1,  Hannah,  Sept.  22,1719;  2,  Ann,  June  29,  1722,  died 
unmaiTied,  March  29,  1772,  aged  49  ;  3,  Joseph,  Dec.  20,  1724, 
married  Nov.  10,  1748,  Sarah,  daughter  of  Rev.  Judah  Lewis;  4, 
Elizabeth,  Aug.  26,  1727,  married  as  second  wife.  May,  26, 
1747,  Simeon  Ockley.  She  died  at  Williamston  Nov.  9,  1797, 
aged  70  ;  5,  Mary,  April  30,  1729  ;  6,  Martha,  born  at  Colchester, 
arch  3,  1731  ;   7,  Abigail,  March  10,  1733  :  8,  a  daughter,  Sept. 


GENEALOGICAL    NOTES    OF    BAKNSTABLE    FAMILIES.         221 

62.  1736,  died  same  day. 

63.  V.  Reliance,  born  28th  June,  1694,  married  Josepli  Smith, 
Jr.,  5th  Oct.  1712  ;  died  4th  May,  1704,  aged  30. 

64.  VI.  Jonathan,  born  28th  May,  1696,  married  Nov.  28, 
1723,  Elizabeth,  daughter  of  the  second  John  Bursley.  He 
died  Sept.  21,  1726,  leaving  a  son  Ephraim,  who  died  Oct. 
17,  1726,  aged  one  year  and  15  days. 

65.  VII.  James,  born  3d  Sept.  1699,  married  Nov.  21,  1721, 
Alice  Swift,  born  in  Sandwich  July  23,  1698  da'r  of  Jireh 
and  Abigail  Swift.  About  the  year  1724  he  removed  to 
Colchester,  Conn.,  and  built  a  house  near  the  Colchester  and 
East  Haddam  turnpike  which,  till  1860,  was  occupied  by  his 
descendents.  He  and  his  wife  were  members  of  the  church 
in  the  parish  of  Westchester.  She  died  in  Westchester 
Jan.  15,  1783,  aged  84 ;  and  he  died  Nov.  7,  1785,  aged  86. 
They  lived  in  the  marriage  state  over  sixty-one  years. 
Their  children  were:  1,  Simeon,  the  Barnstable  records  say 
born  at  Barnstable,  March  22,  1722,  the  Colchester,  Sept. 
19,  1722,  (the  latter  probably  accurate.)  He  married 
March  7,  1751,  Dorothy  Williams.  He  died  at  Westchester 
Feb.  13,  1778.  His  death  was  caused  by  a  fall  on  the  ice, 
while  going  from  his  house  to  his  barn.  She  died  Aug.  4, 
1818,  aged  about  95.  2,  Abigail,  J  born  according  to  the 
the  Barnstable  record,  Sept.  19,  1724,  according  to  the 
Colchester,  March  25,  1724,  married  Feb.  23,  1744,  John 
Williams,  and  2d,  April  23,  1765,  Enoch  Arnold,  died 
1771.  3,  Hannah,  born  at  Colchester  Jan.  17,  1726.  4, 
Levi,  May  11,  1728.  5,  Jonathan,  March  16,  1730.  6, 
James,  April  20,  1732.  7,  Thankful,  Jan.  27,  1733-4.  8, 
Lydia,  Jan.  14,  1736-6.  9,  Ephraim,  Sept.  21,  1739.  The 
last  was  a  physician  settled  in  Richmond,  Mass. 

66.  VIII.     Ephraim,  born  April  1702,  died  May  1,  1704. 

(11)  John  Crocker  son  of  John,  born  7th  Feb.  1663-4,  was 
called  Junior  until  1711,  when  he  was  the  elder  of  the  name  in 
Barnstable.  He  married  6th  Nov.  1702,  Mary,  daughter  of  the 
second  Nathaniel  Bacon.  She  died  March,  1710-11,  aged  33,  and 
he  mamed  for  his  second  wife,  Sarah,  Nov.  11,  1711,  probably  a 
daughter  of  Ensign  John  Hinckley. 

Children  horn  in  Barnstable. 

67.  I.     Sarah,  born  4th  Jan.  1703-4. 

G8.  II.  Moses,  born  5th  April,  1705,  married  May  15,  1736, 
Mary  Fish  of  Sandwich,  and  had  1,  Nathaniel,  May  7, 
1736;  2,  John,  March  8,  1737-8,  he  was  4th  and  called 
Tanner.     He  married  Jan.  8,   1761,  Thankful  Hallett;  3, 

X  Abigail  Crocker  was  the  great  grand-mother  of  my  correspondent,  D.  "William  Patter- 
son, Esq.,  of  West  Winstead,  Conn.,  to  whom  I  am  much  indebted  for  information  respect- 
ing the  early  emigrants  from  Barnstable  to  Connectifut. 


222        GENEALOGICAL    NOTES    OF    BARNSTABLE    FAMILIES. 

Sarah,  Aug.  16,  1740  ;  4,  Moody,  Feb.  14,  1742  ;  and  5, 
Edmund,  Aug.  17,  1645,  also  Nathaniel  not  named  in  the 
record. 

69.  III.  Mary,  bom  July,  1707.  In  a  deed  dated  37th  Aug., 
styles  herself  spinster,  names  her  uncle  Nathaniel,  deceased, 
and  her  two  brothers,  Moses  and  John. 

70.  IV.  John,  born  Sept.  1709,  called  John  Blue  or  Blue 
Stocking  John.  In  the  latter  part  of  his  life  he  was  the 
elder  of  the  four  John  Crocker's  and  called  first.  His 
house,  bequeathed  to  him  by  his  great  aunt,  Experience, 
stood  on  the  easterly  side  of  the  road,  a  little  distance  north 
of  the  West  Barnstable  church,  and  was  afterwards  owned  and 
occupied  by  Mr.  Lemuel  Nye.  He  married  Lydia  Barker  of 
R.  I.  (Neither  his  marriage  nor  the  publication  thereof  is 
on  the  Barnstable  town  records.)  His  children  born  in 
Barnstable  were  :  1,  Elizabeth,  Feb.  28,  1738  ;  2,  Stephen, 
Dec.  3,  1740;  3,  Joseph,  Feb.  6,  1842  ;  4,  AUyn,  Feb.  18, 
1745  ;  5,  Bathseba,  Jan.  23,  1747,  David  Kelley  ;  6,  Lydia, 
May  12,  1749;  7,  David ;  8,  Hannah,  March  13,  1753, 
Tobey;  9,  John,  May  12,  1755,  called  "Young  Blue."  He 
was  a  sea  captain,  and  active  and  intelligent  man.  He 
bought  the  ancient  Hinckley  house  in  which  he  resided. 
His  son  John  Barker  Crocker  is  well  known.  Abigail,  lOth 
child  of  Blue  John  Crocker,  was  born  Feb.  1758,  Nath'l 
Jenkins. 

71.  V.     Elizabeth,  born  March  1710-11. 

(13)  Capt.  Joseph  Crocker,  son  of  John,  born  1st  March, 
1667-8,  married  Ann,  daughter  of  Lieut.  John  Howland,  18th 
Sept.  1691.  Capt.  Crocker  was  an  influential  man,  and  was 
much  employed  in  public  business.  About  the  year  1700  he 
bought  the  house  of  Robert  Claghorn,  which  stood  at  the  east  end 
of  Lumbard's  pond,  and  the  lands  adjoining  which  he  afterwards 
sold  to  the  Lothrops  His  residence  was  at  Cotuit,  and  his  farm 
is  now  owned  by  Josiah  Sampson  and  others.  His  residence  was 
a  large  old  fashioned  two  story  double  house.  It  was  standing 
not  long  since. 

Children  horn  in  Barnstable. 
1-2.     I.     Deborah,  last  of  Dec.  1691. 

73.  II.  Prudence,  born  26th  July,  1692,  married  Oct.  2,  1712 
John  Gorham,  Esq.,  of  Barnstable.  She  was  the  mother 
of  14  children,  13  of  whom  lived  to  mature  age.  She  died 
in  1778  aged  86. 

74.  III.  Benjamin,  born  5th  April,  1696,  married  17th  Sept. 
1719,  Priscilla,  daughter  of  Dea.  Joseph  Hall  of  Yarmouth. 
He  resided  at  Cotuit,  and  died  1757,  aged  61.  His  children 
were  1,  Deborah,  born  June  22,  1721,  died  early  ;  2,  Desire, 
born  Aug.  9,  1727,  married  Oct.  3,  1747,  Coi-nelius  Samp- 
son of  Rochester;  and  3,  Martha,  born  Juae  fi,  1732. 


GENEALOGICAL    NOTES    OE    BAKNSTABLE    FAMILIKS.         223 

(22)  Samuel  Crocker,  son  of  Job,  born  15th  May,  1671, 
married  Dec.  10,  1696,  Sarah,  daughter  of  Robert  Parker.  She 
was  the  mother  of  thirteen  children,  and  died  in  1718,  aged  40. 
He  married  for  his  second  wife,  April  12,  1719,  Judith  Leavet  of 
Rochester,  by  whom  he  had  two  children.  His  farm  was  at  the 
village  now  called  Pondville,  near  the  Sandwich  line  and  was 
bounded  by  the  road  leading  to  Scorton. 

Children  born  in  Barnstable. 

76.  I.  Samuel,  born  12th  Dec.  1697,  married  2d  March,  1723-4, 
Ruth,  daughter  of  the  third  James  Hamblin.  She  was 
born  in  1692,  and  was  five  years  older  than  her  husband. 
He  had  1,  Noah,  Sept.  12,  1724;  2,  Sarah,  Jan.  5,  1726, 
married  Shubael  Hamblin,  .Jr.,  July  16,  1761  ;  3,  Hannah, 
May  16,  1729,  married  Jan.  29,  1758,  Abel  Gushing  of 
Hingham;  4,  Anna,  May  8,  1731,  married  Jabez  Bursley, 
Dec.  15,  1747  ;  5,  Joanna,  June  4,  1735,  died  Aug.  7,  1735, 
6,  Joanna. 

77.  II.     Cornelius,  born  24th  Oct.  1698,  died  young. 

78.  III.     Mary,  8th  April,  1700. 

79.  IV.  Patience,  born  18th  April,  1701.  She  became,  in 
1727,  the  second  wife  of  Shubael  Davis,  sixteen  years  her 
senior. 

80.  V.  Elizabeth,  born  Feb.  1702-3,  married  James  Childs 
Sept.  27,  1722. 

81.  VI.  Cornelius,  born  23d  March,  1704.  (See  account  of 
him  below.) 

82.  VII.     Rowland,  born  18th  June,  1705. 

83.  VIII.  G-ersham,  bom  Dec.  1706,  died  Nov.  26,  1786, 
aged  80. 

84.  IX.  Ebenezer,  born  5th  June,  1710,  married  Ann  Eldredge 
of  Falmouth,  June  12,  1735,  removed  to  East  Haddam, 
Conn.,  1751.  Children  born  in  Barnstable,  1,  Rowland, 
June,  8,  1736,  married  24th  May,  1763,  Persis  Brown,  and 
had  six  children;  2,  Joanna,  born  Dec.  8,  1737;  3, 
Ezekiel,  born  Nov.  24,  1739,  married  Feb.  28,  1765,  Lydia 
Arnold  of  East  Haddam.  He  removed  to  Richmond, 
Mass.,  where  he  had  David,  Samuel  and  Lucy  baptized, 
Aug.  14,  1785.  He  was  one  of  the  early  settlers  of 
Broome  County,  N.  Y.,  a  very  pious  man  and  regular  at 
family  worship.  One  morning  while  engaged  in  his  devo- 
tions, he  saw  his  cows  in  the  corn,  and  he  broke  into  his 
prayer  with,  "David!  Sam!  don't  you  see  those  cursed 
cows  in  the  corn  ?  run  boys  !  quick  !  !  "  and  seeing  them  well 
started  after  the  cows,  took  up  his  broken  prayer,  and 
leisurely  finished  it.  At  80  years  he  married  a  girl  of  18, 
promising  her,  it  is  said,  as  her  dower,  her  weight  in  silver 
dollars.       Thev    lived    together    but   a   short    time.       She 


224        GENEALOGICAL    NOTES    OF    BARNSTABLE    FAMILIES. 

separated  from  him  aud  married  his  grandson.  4,  Tabitha, 
born  in  Barnstable  Feb.  20,  1741-2  ;  5,  Bethia,  baptized 
Bethiel,  born  June  8,  1744  ;  6,  Gershom,  born  Oct.  8,  1746, 
married  Jan.  17.  1769,  Ann  Fisher;  7,  Alice,  baptized 
March  9,  1748-9  ;  8,  Ebenezer,  born  in  East  Haddam, 
June  25,  1751  ;  9,  Samuel,  June  2,  1753. 

85.  X.  Benjamin,  born  July,  1711,  married  1738,  Abigail, 
daughter  of  John  Jenkins  of  Falmouth.  He  married  in 
1747,  Bathsheba,  daughter  of  Dea.  Joseph  Hall  of  Yar- 
mouth. He  probably  married  for  his  3d  wife  in  1759  Annie 
Handy  of  Sandwich.  He  had  seven  children  born  in  Barnsta- 
ble, all  of  whom,  excepting  Josiah,  were  baptized  at  the  West 
Church.  1,  Joseph,  April  15,  1748  ;  2,  Benjamin,  Sept.  17, 
1749  ;  3,  Timothy,  Oct.  3,  1751  ;  4,  Abigail,  Nov.  91, 1753  ;  5, 
Bathsheba,  Nov.  11,  1755;  6,  Peter,  Jan.  11,  1758;  7, 
Josiah,  April  17,  1760. 

86.  XI.     Eebecea, ,  married  Eben  Jones,  March  20, 1 740. 

87.  XII.     Rachell,  .  married  Joseph  Howland,  Jan.  18, 

1738-9. 

88.  XIII.     David, ,  called  junior  to  distinguish  him  from 

David  Crocker,  Esq.,  son  of  Job,  married  Dorcas  Davis  of 
Falmouth,  1741,  had  1,  Anna,  born  Dec.  24,1742;  2, 
Rachel,  1744  ;  3,  Samuel,  Feb.  1747. 

89.  XIV.  Sarah, ,  married  Joshua  Backhouse  of  Sand- 
wich, Nov.  7,  1734. 

90.  XV.  Tabitha,  baptized  Aug.  21,  1721,  married  Timothy 
Davis  of  Falmouth,  Feb.  7,  1760. 

(81.  VI.)  Cornelius  Crocker,  son  of  Samuel,  was  bound, 
when  young,  as  an  apprentice  to  a  tailor,  and  afterwards  had  a 
shop  of  his  own,  and  worked  at  the  business  many  years.  He 
had  a  club-foot,  was  lame  and  unable  to  attend  to  business  which 
required  much  physical  effort  and  active  exertion.  He  married, 
Nov.  9,  1727,  Lydia,  daughter  of  Joseph  Jenkins.  He  resided 
in  the  East  Parish,  built  in  1741  the  high  single  house  near  the 
Agricultural  Hall,  afterwards  owned  by  Ebenezer  Taylor.  He 
bought  the  ancient  grist  mill  on  Mill  Creek,  which  he  rebuilt.  He 
afterwards  owned  the  farm  on  the  west  of  Rendevons  lane,  which 
was  originally  Thomas  Lothrop's  home  lot,  and  that  part  of 
Joseph  Lothrop's  which  was  on  that  side  of  the  lane,  together 
with  the  ancient  gambrel  roofed  house  which  according  to  tradi- 
tion, belonged  to  the  Glovers.  He  also  owned  the  wharf  known 
as  Crocker's  Wharf,  and  a  fish  house  near  the  same.  He  resided 
for  a  time  in  the  gambrel  roofed  house,  afterwards  owned  and 
occupied  by  his  son  Samuel.  He  also  bought  the  estate  known  of 
late  years  as  "Lydia  Sturgis's  tavern,"  where  he  kept  a  public 
house  many  years.  He  owned  other  real  estate,  and  was  one  of 
the  most  wealth v  men  of  his  time  in  the  East  Parish.     His  house 


GENEALOGICAL    NOTES    OF   BARNSTABLE    FAMILIES.         225 

till  within  a  few  years  has  been  a  noted  tavern  stand,  and  a 
favorite  resort  for  travellers.  It  has  always  been  kept  in  good 
repair.  It  was  built  to  accommodate  those  who  attended  the 
courts.  The  first  court  house  in  the  county  of  Barnstable  was 
built  in  the  field  next  on  the  east.  Its  location  caused,  at  that 
time,  much  excitement.  The  Gorhams  who  resided  at  the  lower 
part  of  the  town,  were  wealthy  and  influential,  and  insisted  that 
it  should  be  located  in  their  neighborhood.  They  urged  that  such 
a  location  was  nearer  the  center  of  the  population,  and  that  it 
would  give  better  satisfaction  to  the  people  of  the  County.  Gov. 
Hineldey  and  the  Lothrops  insisted  on  a  more  western  location, 
and  they  prevailed.  The  Lothrops  owned  the  land  on  which  it 
was  finally  located.  The  Gorhams  were  so  confident  that  the 
Court  House  would  be  located  in  their  neighborhood  that  one  or 
more  buildings  intended  for  hotels,  were  put  up. 

Cornelius  Crocker,  as  has  already  been  stated,  kept  a  public 
house  ;  he  was  also  engaged  in  the  fisheries,  gave  employment  to 
quite  a  number  of  men,  and  naturally  exerted  much  influence,  in 
his  neighborhood  and  in  the  town.  He  belonged  to  that  moderate 
class,  among  the  tories  who  deemed  it  inexpedient  for  the  colonies 
to  adopt  measures  that  would  inevitably  lead  to  a  war  with  the 
mother  country.  Perhaps  under  other  circumstances,  he  would 
have  been  more  decided  and  out-spoken  than  he  was.  He  had 
passed  the  age  of  man  ;  his  political  principles  and  his  interests 
were  antagonistical,  and  prudence  dictated  that  he  should  commit 
no  act  that  would  render  his  large  estate  liable  to  confiscation. 

At  the  commencement  of  the  Revolution  there  were,  in  fact, 
four  political  parties  in  Barnstable,  the  lines  between  which  were 
drawn  with  more  or  less  distinctness.  1,  The  ardent  whigs,  of 
whom  Dr.  Nathaniel  Freeman  of  Sandwich,  and  Joseph  Otis, 
Esq.,  a  brother  of  the  patriot  James,  were  the  moving  spirits  and 
leaders.  Dr.  Freeman  was  then  a  young  man,  active,  ardent  and 
zealous  ;  but  his  zeal  was  not  always  tempered  by  the  discretion  of 
age.  This  party  were  nearly  all  young  men,  burning  with  indig- 
nation at  the  outrages  which  the  mother  country  had  inflicted  on 
the  colonies.  In  the  East  Parish  the  leading  men  were  Daniel 
Davis,  Esq.,  Sylvanus  Gorham,  Seth  Lothrop,  Jonathan Lumbert, 
John  Thacher,  Jethro  Thacher,  Nathaniel  Lothrop,  John  Lewis, 
George  Lewis,  Timothy  Phinney,  and  James  Coleman.  Brigadier 
Joseph  Otis  at  first  acted  with  them,  but  he  and  Daniel  Davis, 
Esq.,  afterwards  acted  with  the  more  moderate  party.  2.  The 
leaders  of  the  more  moderate  party  were  older  men,  and  more 
conservative  in  their  views.  Col.  James  Otis,  Solomon  Otis, 
Esq.,  Nymphus  Marston,  Esq.,  Lieut.  Joseph Blish,  Capt.  Samuel 
Crocker,  Edward  Bacon,  Esq.,  Sturgis  Gorham,  Esq.,  Isaac 
Hinckley,  Esq.,  Shearjashub  Bourne,  Esq.,  Eleazer  Scudder,  and 
Dea.  Joseph  Hallett,  were  prominent  men  of  the   party.     During 


226    GENEALOGICAL  NOTES  OF  BAKN8TABLE  FAMILIES. 

the  Revolution  they  were  always  in  the  majority  in  Barnstable, 
and  the  members  of  this  party  were  the  men  who  were  relied  on 
to  furnish  men  and  money,  tlie  sinews  of  war. 

The  tories  were  few  in  numbers  in  Barnstable.  They  were 
also  divided  into  two  parties,  the  out-spoken  and  decided,  of 
whom  David  Parker,'Esq.,  and  Mr.  Otis  Loring  were  the  leading 
men.  The  more  moderate  were  such  men  as  Mr.  Cornelius 
Crocker  and  his  son  Josiah.  Among  the  tories  were  men  of 
wealth,  of  respectability,  and  influence.  They  were  citizens,  and 
so  long  as  they  did  not  give  aid  or  comfort  to  the  enemies  of  the 
country,  and  contributed  their  share  to  the  public  expenses,  they 
were  entitled  to  the  protection  of  the  laws,  though  their  political 
opinions  might  not  have  been  in  accordance  with  the  views  of  a 
majority  of  the  people.  Such  protection  the  moderate  among  the 
whigs  were  willing  to  concede ;  but  for  making  this  concession, 
some  of  them  were  persecuted  with  more  bitterness  of  feeling 
then  were  the  open  and  avowed  tories.  Edward  Bacon,  Esq., 
who  had  been  chosen  a  representative  to  the  General  Court,  was 
denounced  as  a  tory,  and  an  enemy  to  his  country.  A  remon- 
strance embodying  these  charges  was  presented  to  the  Legislature 
and  published  in  a  newspaper  at  Watertown,  July  8,  1776,  and  in 
consequence  the  seat  of  Mr.  Bacon  was  declared  vacant.  He 
returned  home.  A  town  meeting  was  duly  notified  and  held,  and 
the  town  meeting  resolved,  with  great  unanimity,  that  the  charges 
preferred  against  him  were  false  and  slanderous. 

Capt.  Samuel  Crocker,  to  whom  unintentional  injustice  was 
done  in  the  notice  of  the  cutting  down  of  the  liberty  pole  in 
Barnstable,  was  also  persecuted  with  a  malignity  of  feeling  that  is 
not  creditable  to  those  who  took  an  active  part  therein.  He  was 
one  of  the  most  intelligent  and  active  men  of  the  whig  party, 
conservative  and  tolerant  in  his  opinions.  His  position  was  un- 
fortunate ;  but  it  was  not  one  of  his  own  seeking  or  making,  and 
for  which  he  was  in  no  way  responsible.  His  father  and  brothers 
were  classed  among  the  loyalists,  whether  rightfully  or  wrong- 
fully, to  him  belonged  neither  the  censure  or  the  praise.  He  was 
responsible  for  his  own  acts,  not  for  those  of  others.  Natural 
affection  would  dictate  to  him  that  he  ought  not  to  deal  harshly 
with  those  who  were  bound  to  him  by  the  ties  of  consanguinity. 
His  position  entitled  him  to  sympathy  ;  but  there  were  those  who 
irreverantly  said  that  he  should  forsake  "father  and  mother  and 
wife  and  children,"  for  the  cause  of  his  country.  His  brother, 
Cornelius,  was  not  a  decided  politician,  though  he  generally  acted 
with  the  whig  party,  and  therefore  could  not  be  classed  among  the 
tories.  He  did  not  possess  the  commanding  talents  of  his  brother 
Samuel,  or  the  learning  of  his  brother  Josiah,  but  in  his  own  way, 
he  denounced,  with  perhaps  too  much  severity,  the  excesses  of  the 
day.     Such  a  course  exposes  a  man  to  the  censure   of  both   parties. 


GENEALOGICAL,   NOTES    OF    BARNSTABLE    FAMILIES.       227 

In  times  when  the  political  elements  are  moved  to  their  very  founda- 
tions, men  cannot  be  neutral,  they  must  belong  to  the  one  party  or 
the  other.  To  some  extent  Cornelius  Crocker,  Jr.,  professed  to  be 
neutral  in  politics,  and  he  was  therefore  denounced  by  both  parties. 
In  front  of  his  house  stood  the  Liberty  Pole,  the  emblem  of  progress, 
around  which  the  whigs  were  wont  to  assemble ;  and  near  by,  in  lov- 
ing proximity,  the  stocks  and  the  whipping  post,  lingering  emblems 
of  a  barbarous  code,  and  of  a  more  barbarous  age. 

The  inhabitants  in  town  meeting,  by  their  repeated  votes, 
manifested  their  confidence  in  the  political  integrity  of  Capt.  Samuel 
Crocker,  against  whom  the  shafts  of  malevolence  seem  to  have  been 
as  violently  hurled  as  against  his  father  and  brothers.  Its  bitterness 
may  be  judged  by  the  fact  that  a  century  has  now  nearly  elapsed, 
yet  the  feelings  of  animosity  which  it  engendered  have  not  yet  sub- 
sided. 

Another  unhappy  dissension  between  individuals  also  divided 
public  sentiment.  An  unfriendly  feeling  which  existed  between 
Brigadier  Joseph  Otis  and  Edward  Bacon,  Esq.,  led  to  unpleasant 
political  action.  Mr.  Otis,  however,  soon  became  satisfied  that  the 
charges  against  Mr.  Bacon  were  false  and  malicious,  and  there- 
after cordially  co-operated  with  him  and  the  conservative  portion 
of  the  whig  party.  Mr.  Bacon  was  a  deacon  of  the  East  Church, 
and  the  matter  became  a  subject  of  church  discipline.  The 
church  wisely  decided  that  "a  church  being  an  ecclesiastical 
body,  have  no  right  to  call  its  members  to  an  account  for  actions 
of  a  civil  and  public  nature  ;  that  in  signing  petitions  against  Dea. 
Bacon,  they  exercised  their  just  right  as  men,  and  subjects  of  a 
free  state  ;  and  that  in  their  apprehension,  when  they  entered  into 
a  church  state,  they  did  not  give  up  any  of  their  civil  rights  ;  that 
they  did  not  charge  the  Deacon  with  any  immorality  ;  but  that  his 
religious  character  stood  as  fair  in  their  minds  when  they  signed 
the  petitions  as  before ;  that  if  they  were  chargeable  with  any 
overt  acts  of  wickednesi*,  or  breach  of  their  covenant  engage- 
ments, they  were  willing  to  answer  it  to  the  church,  and  to  make 
christian  satisfaction  ;  but  that  as  to  political  controversies,  they 
begged  leave  to  refer  them  to  a  civil  tribunal." 

This  extract  is  from  the  reply  to  the  complaint  of  Dea. 
Bacon.  The  vote  of  the  church  assumes  the  same  ground,  but 
all  the  particulars  are  not  recapitulated.  This  vote  was  passed 
June  22d,  1780,  three  years  later  than  the  action  of  the  town, 
and  after  the  passions  engendered  at  the  moment  had  had  time  to 
subside.  This  is  contemporaneous  authority  and  therefore  valu- 
able. Dea.  Bacon  had,  for  some  time,  withdrawn  himself  from 
the  communion  of  the  church,  and  a  second  vote  was  unanimously 
passed  desiring  and  requesting  him  "to  return  to  his  privilege  and 
duty  and  the  discharge  of  his  office  in  the  church."  On  the  2d  of 
August  following  a  committee  was   appointed   to   confer   with   him. 


228         GENEAL(JGICAL,    NOTKS    OF    BARNSTABLE    FAMILIES. 

and  on  the  30th  they  reported  at  an  adjourned  meeting,  "that  the 
affair  between  Dea.  Bacon  and  the  Brethren,  styled  petitioners, 
was  happily  accommodated."  Dea.  Bacon  returned  to  the  dis- 
charge of  his  office,  and  harmony  once  more  apparently  prevailed 
in  the  councils  of  the  church. 

In  the  language  of  the  town  records,  "the  dissentions  which 
divided  our  once  happy  town"  were  so  intimately  blended  that  it  is 
difficult  now  to  draw  the  distinguishing  lines  between  them. 
"The  Crocker  quarrels"  were  two  in  number,  one  between  Col. 
Nathaniel  Freeman  and  others,  and  the  family  of  Cornelius 
Crocker,  and  the  other  between  Abigail  Freeman*  and  Samuel 
Crocker  and  others.  It  was  the  latter  that  the  town  refused  to 
take  action  on,  on  the  ground  that  it  was  a  private  matter,  and 
that  the  settlement  of  the  questions  involved,  belonged  to  the 
Courts  and  not  to  the  town. 

As  references  will  be  made  to  localities  in  vicinity  of  the 
Court  House,  a  brief  description  will  not  be  out  of  place.  The 
second  Court  House  has  been  remodeled  and  is  now  known  as  the 
Baptist  Meeting  House.  It  was  built  about  the  year  1774,  and 
stands  on  the  north  side  of  the  road.  At  that  time  there  was  on 
the  east,  where  Judge  Day's  house  now  stands,  an  ancient  two 
story  house,  probably  built  by  one  of  the  Lothrops  of  the  first 
settlers,  and  then  occupied  by  the  widow  Abigail  Freeman  as  a 
dwelling  house  and  grocery  store.  The  house  on  the  east, 
between  the  Court  House  and  Rendezvous  Lane,  said  to  have 
been  built  of  the  timber  of  the  old  meeting-house,  is  yet  standing, 
and  is  occupied  by  the  Baptist  Society  for  a  parsonage.  On  the 
west  side  of  the  lane,  there  was  air  ancient  two  story  house,  prob- 
ably built  by  Thomas  Lothrop,  a  brother  of  Joseph.  This  house 
was  then  owned  by  Cornelius  Crocker,  Jr.,  and  occupied  as  a 
public  house.  In  front  of  these  buildings,  excepting  that 
occupied  by  the  widow  Freeman,  there  was  a  narrow  green,  on 
which  the  militia  company  often  paraded  during  the  Revolutionary 
struggle.  In  front  of  the  Court  House,  and  on  the  south  side  of 
the  street,  stood  the  public  house  of  Mr.  Otis  Loring.  Between 
the  Court  House   and   Loring's   tavern    was    his   blacksmith   shop, 

*Some  of  the  essential  features  of  this  transaction  have  been  the  subject  of  controversy 
between  the  writer  of  these  sketches  and  the  author  of  the  "Hist,  of  Cape  Cod."  The 
latter,  writing  with  much  apparent  feelinff,  and  in  a  tone  of  bitter  denunciation,  (See  Hist. 
C.  C,  Vol.  11,  pp.  305-306,)  controverts  the  assumption  of  Mr.  Otis,  that  this  outrage  was 
committed  by  Whig  sympathizers,  upon  a  Tory  lady,  but  charges  its  commission  upon  the 
Tories  and  their  loyalist  associates,  against  one  who  sympathized  with  the  Whigs.  The 
fact  that  the  outrage  was  committed  upon  Mrs.  Freeman  is  not  disputed.  In  support  of 
his  views,  Mr.  Freeman  quotes  Dr.  James  Thacher,  a  native  of  the  town  and  a  contem- 
porary of  the  events  in  controversy.  It  seems  very  singular  that  two  such  well-infonaed 
writers  as  Mr.  Otis  and  Mr.  Freeman  should  have  taken  such  entirely  opposite  views  of 
a  transaction  of  which  it  would  seem  that  the  truth  could  easily  have  been  arrived  at  by 
men  of  their  opportunities  of  jud^ng;  and  it  has  been  the  purpose  of  the  writei-  of  this 
note,  to  investigate  the  subject,  with  a  view  of  endeavoring  to  set  the  transaction  right; 
but  documentary  evidence  in  the  case  has  not  been  available  to  him.  He  deems  it 
proper,  however,  to  here  remark  upon  this  strange  contradiction,  with  an  expression  of 
the  hope  that  future  investigation  may  place  the  matter  in  controversy  in  its  true 
light.    [See  pp.  2334.]  S. 


GENEALOGICAL    NOTES    OF    BARNSTABLE    FAMILIES.         229 

not  in  the  dii-ect  line  between,  but  a  little  eastward.  The  Sturgis 
tavern,  which  has  been  described,  is  about  three  hundred  yards 
eastward  from  the  Court  House,  and  on  the  south  side  of  the  road. 
TJiere  has  been  only  one  change  in  the  location  of  the  buildings  in 
this  vicinity  since  1775 — the  Loring  tavern  has  been  taken  down. 
In  1774  Loring  made  an  addition  to  his  house,  in  order  to  induce 
the  justices  of  the  courts  to  stop  with  him.  During  the  Revolution 
his  house  was  the  head-quarters  of  the  tories,  and  the  Sturgis 
house  of  the  whigs. 

The.  exciting  incidents  which  occurred  in  that  vicinity,  are 
popularly  known  as  the  "Crocker  quarrels,"  though  others  beside 
the  Croekers  took  part  in  them.  The  scene  of  the  Indian  Dream 
was  laid  in  that  vicinity  ;  the  Liberty  pole,  cut  down  by  sacrileg- 
ious hands,  stood  at  the  west  end  of  the  Green;  the  widow 
Freeman  was  tarred  and  feathered  thereon,  the  difHculties  between 
Cols.  Freeman  and  Otis,  and  the  Croekers,  occurred  there,  and  in 
the  house  of  Cornelius  Crocker,  Jr.,  fronting  thereon,  and  the 
defiant  passage  at  arms,  between  Otis  Loring  and  the  Vigilance 
Committee,  in  the  Blacksmith's  shop.  The  bitter  feelings  of 
personal  hostility  which  these  incidents  engendered,  has  no 
parallel  on  Cape  Cod,  if  the  case  between  the  Clarks  and  the 
Winslows  of  Harwich,  be  excepted.  Even  now,  individuals  may 
be  found  who  are  ready  "to  shoulder  their  crutches,  and  show 
how  the  battles"  were  fought. 

The  Indian  Dreame.  On  a  fine  morning,  just  before  the 
Declaration  of  Independence,  the  villagers  found  under  the 
latchets  of  their  doors,  a  small  pamphlet  entitled  "An  Indian 
Dream,  drempt  on  Cape  Cod,  intended  as  a  satire  upon  the  lead- 
ing men  of  the  County,  particularly  on  the  justices  of  the  Court 
of  Common  Sessions.  It  was  written  with  much  ability,  and  its 
witty  allusions  commended  it  to  the  young  and  the  old,  and  to 
men  of  all  parties. 

The  Indian  said,  "I  dreamed  that  I  was  in  the  spirit  world, 
that  I  saw  a  long  bench,  with  twelve  antient .  men  sitting  thereon. 
(The  twelve  justices  of  the  Court.)  I  inquired  who  they  were, 
and  was  informed  that  they  had  just  arrived  from  the  lower  world, 
and  that  Satan  (a  nickname  of  Otis  Loring)  had  added  an  apart- 
ment to  his  domain  for  their  special  accommodation.  I  asked, 
who  is  that  venerable  man  sitting  at  the  head  of  the  bench. 
(Col.  James  Otis.)  I  was  told  that  he  was  their  Chief  in  the 
nether  world,  that  in  early  life  he  was  a  painter  and  glazier  by 
trade,*  that  he  afterwards  peddled  goods  to  customers,  and  law 
to  clients,  that  his  tribe  had  made  him  a  chief  sachem ;  but  of 
late  he  thought  himself  to  be  the  best  paddler  in  canoe  of  State." 

*  This  fact  I  have  never  seen  stated  in  any  biograpliy  of  Col.  James  Otis.  It  was 
during  the  time  he  travelled  from  house  to  house  paintinff  and  repairing  the  ancient  dia- 
mond glass  windows,  that  be  laid  the  foundation  of  his  influence  and  usefalness. 


230        GENEALOGICAL    NOTES    OF    BARNSTABLE    FAMILIES. 

In  this  manner  the  Indian  described,  in  his  dream,  the  twelve 
justices.  He  called  no  one  by  name  ;  but  described  some  peculiar 
trait  in  the  character  of  each,  so  that  the  individual  intended  was 
known. t 

The  pamphlet  caused  much  excitement  at  the  time,  and  was 
considered  a  tory  document.  The  secret  of  the  authorship  was 
well  kept ;  no  legal  proof  could  be  obtained  respecting  the  author 
or  the  printer.  It  was  a  caustic  satire  on  many  who  were  after- 
wards leading  whigs,  and  they  never  forgot  it,  or  forgave  the 
Crockers  who  were  the  reputed  authors.  Why  this  was  so,  it 
seems  difficult  to  determine,  for  tories  came  in  for  their  full  share 
of  the  satire.  If  that  pamphlet  had  emanated  from  a  different 
source,  I  am  inclined  to  the  opinion  that  it  would  have  been  differ- 
ently received.  It  was  the  allusions  therein  to  the  private  char- 
acters of  the  individuals  that  gave  offence.  "The  Body  of  the 
People"  prevented  the  same  justices  from  holding,  by  virtue  of 
authority  emanating  from  the  King,  their  court  in  Barnstable.  J 
The  Committee  arrested,  or  attempted  to  arrest,  others  who  were 
satirized  in  the  pamphlet.  Private  considerations  probably  had  an 
influence  in  giving  to  Mr.  Otis  Loring  so  prominent  a  position  m 
the  Dream.  He  kept  an  opposition  tavern,  and  had  then  recently 
enlarged  his  house,  and  was  endeavoring  to  induce  the  Coui:t  to 
stop  with  him. 

Mr.  Loring  was  an  outspoken  and  decided  tory.  He  made 
no  attempt  to  conceal  his  opinions.  When  the  Vigilance  Commit- 
tee, of  whom  Col.  Freeman  was  the  Chairman,  came  to  arrest 
him,  he  went  into  his  blacksmith's  shop  and  laid  a  long  bar  of 
iron  across  the  fire,  and  heated  the  central  portion  to  a  read  heat. 
His  friends  had  given  him  notice  of  the  approach  of  the  Com- 
mittee, and  when  they  arrived  he  was  prepared  for  them.  He 
stood  before  his  shop  door  holding  the  bar  by  either  end.  With- 
out burning  their  fingers,  it  would  have  been  diflScult  for  them  to 
have  made  an  immediate  arrest.  He  politely  said,  "gentlemen,  I 
am  ready  for  you,  come  on."  Finding  him  determined  to  resist, 
they  went  away,  without  maliing  an  arrest.  At  another  time,  Mr. 
Loring  was  concealed  in  a  chamber  of  his  house  for  several  days, 
to  avoid  arrest. 

It  does  not  appear  that  Mr.  Loring  or  the  Crockers  had 
committed  any  overt  or  open   act  of  treason.     They  had   freely 

1 1  read  this  pamphlet  when  a  school  hoy  fifty  years  ago,  and  I  cannot  Touch  for  the 
verhal  accuracy  of  the  words  placed  in  quotation  marks.  Henry  Crocker,  Esq.,  now  of 
Boston,  sat  on  the  same  bench  with  me,  had  the  pamphlet,  and  I  read  it  in  the  school  room 
and  have  not  since  seen  it.  About  the  year  1824,1  had  a  conversation  with  Sarali  La^vrence 
respecting  it.  She  said,  "the  people  said  that  my  brother  Josiah  wrote  it,  that  it  was 
printed  in  Boston,  brought  from  there  in  the  packet,  and  the  night  following  a  copy  was 
laid  at  the  door  of  each  man  in  the  village."  Her  manner  induced  me  to  believe  at  tlie 
time,  that  there  was  truth  in  the  common  report,  though  she  did  not  so  state. 


JThe  original  papers  on  this   subject  have  been  preserved,   and  I  intended   to  have 
printed  them,  with  fac  similes  of  the  signatures ;  but  the  publication  must  be  deferred. 


GENEALOGICAL    NOTES    OF    BARNSTABLE    FAMILIES.         231 

expressed  their  own  opinions,  usually  in  their  own  houses,  and 
however  obnoxious  such  opinions  may  have  been  to  others,  a 
sound  policy  did  not  demand  the  arrest  or  imprisonment  of  such 
men.  Treason  should  be  nipped  in  its  bud  ;  but  perfect  freedom 
to  debate  on  matters  of  policy  is  the  unalienable  right  of  a  free 
people. 


The  "Crocker  Quarrels." 

Almost  every  evening,  in  these  exciting  times,  the  whigs  met 
at  their  headquarters  in  the  Sturgis  tavern,  to  hear  the  news,  and 
discuss  current  political  events,  and  words  often  ran  high.  One 
evening  a  large  company  had  assembled,  Capt.  Samuel  Crocker, 
and  his  brothers  Cornelius  and  Josiah  were  present,  Col. 
Nathaniel  Freeman  of  Sandwich,  the  late  Capt.  Samuel  Taylor  of 
Yarmouth,  and  others  were  present.  The  sub.iect  of  the  conver- 
sation was  politics.  The  principal  speakers  were  Col.  Freeman 
and  Capt.  Samuel  Crocker.  The  latter  was  a  whig,  and  one  of 
the  most  efficient  of  the  party  in  Barnstable,  being  frequently  on 
Committees,  and  was  a  very  able  and  intelligent  man.  He 
opposed  the  system  of  espionage  which  had  been  established,  not 
only  as  useless,  but  as  calculated  to  do  injury  to  the  cause  of  the 
country.  Inquiring  of  the  aged  whether  they  had  tea  concealed 
in  their  houses,  and  of.  young  ladies  whether  they  were  whig  or 
tory,  he  said  was  a  duty  not  required  of  the  patriot  or  the  states- 
man. 

Others  of  the  company  opposed  both  Capt.  Crocker  and  Col. 
Freeman.  Words  ran  high.  The  Colonel  was  ardent  and 
zealous — of  a  nervous  temperament  and  opposition  kindled  his 
ii'e.  Capt.  Crocker,  when  excited,  was  earnest  and  irascible,  and 
would  not  submit  to  be  told  that  the  moderate  measures  that  he 
advocate^  was  toryism  in  disguise.  Crimination  lead  to  re-crimin- 
ation, and  re-crimination  to  personal  violence.  Some  of  the 
company  vented  their  spleen  against  the  Crockers  by  breaking 
down  the  fence  in  front  of  the  house. 

Opprobious  epithets  never  make  proselytes ;  like  the  over- 
charged gun,  they  are  apt  to  recoil.  The  violent  political  discus- 
sions of  those  days,  prove  no  more  this,  that  the  convictions  of 
the  people  were  deep — that  they  were  in  earnest  and  that  in  their 
earnestness  they  sometimes  over-stepped  the  bounds  of  pru- 
dence. 

If  the  difficulties  between  the  Crockers  and  the  Freemans  had 
ended  as  they  begun,  only  in  the  use  of  intemperate  language, 
the  remembrance  of  their  dissentions  would  have  long  since  been 
buried  in  oblivion. 

Not  long  afterwards  the  militia  company  paraded  on  the 
Court  House  Green.  Cols.  Nathaniel  Freeman  and  Joseph  Otis 
were  both  present.     They  were  both  unpopular  with  the  soldiers. 


232        GENEALOGICAL    NOTES    OF    BARNSTABLE    FAMILIES. 

for  what  reason  I  am  unable  to  say,  probably  on  account  of  the 
differences  in  political  sentiments  which  then  prevailed,  already  ex- 
plained in  the  account  of  parties  in  Barostable.  According  to 
military  usuages,  when  they  passed  through  the  lines,  the  soldiers 
should  have  presented  arms.  Instead  of  extending  to  them  this 
token  of  respect,  due  to  them  as  superior  officers,  every  soldiei', 
at  a  given  signal,  clubbed  his  musket.  ||  This  was  received,  as  it 
was  intended,  as  a  token  of  disrespect,  as  an  insult  from  the 
officers  and  soldiers  of  the  Company  to  their  superiors.  Col. 
Otis  turned  to  Capt.  Samuel  Crocker,  and  said  in  a  defiant  tone, 
"The  Croekers  are  at  the  bottom  of  this."  "You  lie,  sir,"  was 
the  response.  Col.  Otis  immediately  raised  his  cane  and  struck 
Capt.  Crocker  a  severe  blow,  which  he  returned.  The  spectators 
interfered,  but  before  they  were  parted  several  blows  were  inter- 
changed. Simultaneously,  Col.  Freeman  made  the  same  charge 
against  Cornelius  Crocker,  Jr.,  who  had  gone  or  was  going  into 
his  house.  Col.  Freeman  followed  him  into  the  west  room  and 
made  three  passes  at  him  with  his  cutlass.  Fortunately  neither 
of  them  took  effect ;  but  some  one  called  out  that  Col.  Freeman 
had  cut  down  Nell  Crocker,  at  which  Elijah  Crocker  rushed  from 
the  ranks  into  the  house,  and,  with  fixed  boyonet,  swore  he  would 
revenge  the  blood  of  his  uncle.  Dr.  Samuel  Savage  was  stand 
ing  in  the  doorway,  and  grasping  the  bayonet,  turned  it  on  one 
side,  and  with  the  assistance  of  others  in  the  house,  prevented 
young  Crocker  from  executing  his  threat. 

One  or  more  of  the  blows  aimed  by'  Col.  Freeman  at  Cornelius 
Crocker,  Jr.,  took  effect  on  the  "summer-beam"  of  the  house, 
and  the  deep  incision  made  therein  showed  the  force  with  which 
the  blows  were  struck.  These  marks  remained  till  the  house  was 
taken  down,  about  fifty  years  ago,  and  were  often  examined  by 
visitors.  1tf> 

The  difficulty  between  Col.  Otis  and  Capt.  Crocker  was  satis- 
factorily, adjusted  and  settled.  That  between  Col.  Freeman  and 
the  Croekers  never.  The  only  palliation  for  the  offence  is,  it  was 
done  hastily  and  in  a  moment  of  uncontrolable  excitement,  caused 
by  a  palpable  insult  to  him  as  a  man  and  an  officer.  There  is  no 
other  excuse — it  cannot  be  justified — a  man's  house  is  his  castle, 
his  sanctuary,  and  he  that  invades  it,  without  legal  authority, 
commits  an  outrage  on  the  rights  of  others.  The  tory  proclivi- 
ties of  Cornelius  Crocker,  Jr.,  did  not  warrant  Col.  Freeman  in 

II  Clubbing  Arms.  I  am  profoundly  ignorant  of  military  terms,  and  cannot  say  whether 
this  is  a  teclinical  or  cant  phrase.  I  am  told  that  it  ii  the  reverse  of  shoulder  arms,— that 
the  breach  is  elevated  across  the  shoulder,  and  the  muzzle  grasped  as  a  club  is  held. 

Note. — Attention  has  been  called  to  the  statement  found  on  page  224  which  says  of 
Benjamin  Crocker,  "He  probably  married  for  his  third  wife  in  1759,  Annie  Handy  of  Sand- 
wich." Ibis  is  rendered  inprobable,  by  the  fact  that  the  inscription  upon  their  grave- 
stones in  the  burying-gi-ound  at  Marston's  Mills  represent  liim  as  dying  in  1785,  and  his 
wife,  Bathsheba,  in  1808,  surviving  him  twenty-three  years.  S. 


GENEALOGICAL    NOTES    OF    BARNSTABLE    FAMILIES.         233 

drawing  his  sword  on  an  unarmed  man,  nor  did  the  act  of  Col. 
Freeman  warrant  the  act  of  Elijah  Crocker  in  rushing  upon  him 
with  fixed  bayonet. 

I  have  repeatedly  heard  aged  men,  who  took  an  active  part  in 
the  stirring  events  of  those  times,  not  only  justify  the  act,  but 
refer  to  it  as  an  evidence  of  the  patriotic  zeal  of  Col.  Freeman.* 
He  had  numerous  adherents,  more  zealous  than  himself,  who 
counselled  no  concession.  The  Crockers  had  also  many  friends. 
The  wound  might  at  first  have  been  healed  ;  but  frequent  irrita- 
tions caused  it  to  fester,  and  its  virus  spread  through  the  village, 
parish,  and  town,  causing  divisions  in  families,  and  alienation  of 
old  friends.  The  children  and  friends  of  the  parties  ever  enter- 
tained a  bitter  hostility  towards  each  other,  and  their  grand- 
children, the  men  of  the  present  generation,  are  sensitive  on  the 
subject,  and  refer  to  it  with  painful  interest. 

Tar  and  feathering.  Abigail  Freeman,  baptized  in  the  East 
Church  Sept.  21,  1729,  was  a  daughter  of  Thomas  Davis  of 
Barnstable.  The  few  among  the  aged  who  remember  her,  call 
her  the  Widow  Nabby  Freeman.  April  8,  1753,  at  the  tender  age 
of  fifteen,  she  married  David  Freeman  of  Fairfield,  Conn.  His 
mother,  who  was  a  Sturgis,  had  married  for  her  second  husband. 
Job  Gorham,  and  it  appears  that  some  of  her  children  came  with 
her  to  Barnstable.  Abigail  had  a  son  born  March  25,  1757, 
named  Thomas  Davis  Freeman,  and  she  became  a  widow  soon 
after  that  date.  She  united  with  the  East  Church  March  26, 
1758,  and  continued  to  be  a  member,  of  good  standing,  till  the 
close  of  her  life  in  November,  1788. 

She  resided  in  the  ancient  dwelling  house  probably  built  by 
Joseph  Lothrop,  Esq.,  that  stood  next  east  of  the  new  Court 
House,  where  Judge  Day  now  resides.  Early  in  life  she  became  a 
widow  and  had  to  rely  on  her  own  unaided  exertions  to  procure 
the  means  of  subsistence.  She  kept  a  small  grocery  store,  and 
being  an  outspoken  tory,  refused  to  surrender  her  small  stock  of 
tea,  to  be  destroyed  by  the  Vigilance  Committee.  She  was  talka- 
tive, a  fault  not  exclusively  confined  to  her  sex,  was  a  frequent 
visitor  at  the  house  of  Otis  Loring,  made  no  attempt  to  conceal 
her  tory  principles,  and  was  sometimes  severe  in  her  denunciation 
of  the  acts  of  leading  whigs.  Her  course  was  not  patriotic  and 
not  to  be  commended.  Even  at  the  present  day  (1863)  there  are 
persons  who  condemn,  with'  more  severity,  the  acts  of  our  govern- 
ment and  the  leading  politicians,  than  did  Abigail  Freeman  during 
the  Revoluntionai-y  struggle ;  yet  no  sane  man  would  consider  it 
wise  or  expedient  to  enact  laws,  restraining  the  freedom  of  speech 
in  regard  to  the  policy  of  measures,  or  the  motives  of  individuals. 

*I  must  confess  that  I  have  myself  used  this  argument.  I  had  not  then  investigated 
the  facts  and  circumstances  of  the  case.  In  truth,  there  Is  only  one  essential  fact,  and  that 
is,  the  assault.  No  one  denies  it,  and  the* question  turns  on  this  point;  did  the  circum- 
stances justify  the  act?    T  once  thought  they  did.    I  now  think  otherwise. 


234       GENEALOGICAL    NOTES    OF   BARNSTABLE    FAMILIES. 

Some  of  our  Revolutionary  fathers  in  Barnstable,  thought  differ- 
ently and  acted  differently.  Abigail  Freeman  was  an  eye  sore  to 
them.  ,  She  kept  a  little  grocery  store,  saw  many  persons,  and 
would  keep  her  tongue  in  motion  whenever  and  wherever  she 
could  find  a  listener.  Doctors  Freeman  and  Smith,  for  whom  she 
had  a  strong  antipathy,  some  of  the  Crockers  with  whom  she  had 
a  private  quarrel,  and  some  of  the  radical  whigs,  resolved  that  a 
bridle  should  be  put  upon  lier  tongue.  Ducking  stools,  for  the 
cure  of  scolds  and  unquiet  women,  had  then  gone  out  of  use,  and 
the  then  modern  invention  of  tarring  and  feathering,  and  riding 
on  a  rail,  were  in  vogue.  Perhaps  it  is  well  that  the  names  of  the 
individuals  who  took  part  in  this  courteous  ceremony  were  not 
recorded.  They  were  all  young  men,  and  acting  in  the  shade  of 
night,  perhaps  were  not  recognized  in  the  disguises  which  they 
assumed. 

When  they  came  to  the  house  of  Mrs.  Freeman  she  had 
retired  for  the  night.  They  obtamed  an  entrance,  took  her  from 
her  bed  to  the  Green,  besmeared  her  with  tar  and  covered  her 
with  feathers.  A  rail  was  procured  from  a  fence  in  the  vicinity, 
across  which  she  was  set  astride,  and  either  end  thereof  was 
placed  on  the  shoulder  of  a  stout  youth.  She  was  held  in  her 
position  by  a  man  who  walked  at  her  side,  holding  her  by  the 
hand.  When  they  were  tired  of  the  sport,  and  after  they  had 
exacted  from  her  a  promise  that  she  would  no  more  meddle  in 
politics,  they  released  her,  and  the  gallant  band  soon  after  sneaked 
homeward.. 

Though  some  who  took  an  active  part  in  this  demonstration — 
this  visible  argument  for  personal  liberty  and  the  freedom  of 
speech — disliked  to  be  known  as  participators  ;  yet  a  strong  party 
in  Sandwich  and  Barnstable  justified  the  act. 

No  apologist  for  this  can  now  be  found  ;  but  before  condemn- 
ing the  participators,  we  must  take  into  consideration  the  mitigat- 
ing circumstances.  Its  respectability  and  influence,  if  not  actual 
participators,  countenanced  and  supported  those  that  were. 
Allowance  must  also  be  made  for  the  excitement  of  the  times,  and 
that  men  acting  under  the  influence  of  such  excitement,  often  do 
things  which  they  afterwards  regret.  The  Widow  Freeman  was  a 
thorn  in  their  sides — she  could  out-talk  any  of  them,  was  fascinat- 
ing in  her  manners,  and  had  an  influence  which  she  exerted, 
openly  and  definantly,  against  the  patriotic  men  who  were  then 
hazzarding  their  fortunes  and  their  lives  in  the  struggle  for 
American  independence.  Sitting  quietly  at  our  firesides  we  may 
condemn  such  acts,  and,  as  moralists  say,  the  end  does  not  justify 
the  means.  Perhaps  if  we  were  placed  in  the  same  circumstance 
that  our  fathers  were,  we  should  do  as  they  did.  These  consid- 
erations are  not  presented  as  a  .justification  of  the  gross  and 
shameless   violation  of   the   personal  rights   of    Widow   Abigail 


GENEALOGICAL   NOTES    OF    BARNSTABLE    FAMILIES.        235 

Freeman,  but  as  mitigating  circumstances  which  should  temper 
the  verdict  of  public  opinion. 

Col.  James  Otis  attempted  to  heal  the  difficulties  in  town  and 
reconcile  the  parties,  and  h^  partially  succeeded.  Deacon  Bacon 
and  Coi.  Freeman  were  his  Idnsmen,  and  his  age  and  the  eminent 
services  which  he  had  rendered  to  the  town  and  County,  entitled 
his  opinions  to  high  consideration.  At  a  town  meeting  held  May 
21,  1776,  he  made,  what  the  records  call,  an  "apology  !  "  and  the 
town  voted  to  hear  a  part  of  it,  but  not  "that  part  relating  to 
Abigail  Freeman  and  the  Crocker's  quarrel."  The  reason  for 
making  this  distinction  is  apparent,  Dea.  Bacon  was  the  repre- 
sentative elect  of  the  town.  Joseph  Otis,  and  others,  had  peti- 
tioned the  General  Court  that  he  be  ejected  from  his  seat,  and 
therefore  any  matter  relative  to  Deacon  Bacon's  qualifications  or 
to  the  petition,  was  pertinent ;  but  neither  Abigail  nor  the 
Crockers  stood  in  the  same  relation  to  the  town,  and  therefore  the 
inhabitants,  as  a  town,  had  nothing  to  do  with  their  quarrels. 
These  votes  show  that  the  men  of  those  days  thought  and  acted 
independently,  and  that  they  could  not  be  persuaded  to  act  in 
opposition  to  what  they  believed  to  be  the  right  course  of  action, 
even  by  cne  who  had  been  President  of  the  first  continental  Con- 
gress at  Watertown. 

Mr.  Cornelius  Crocker  died  Dec.  12,  1784,  aged  80.  His 
wife,  Mrs.  Lydia  Crocker,  died  Aug.  5,  1773,  aged  68.  His  will 
is  dated  April  6,  1782,  and  the  codicil  thereto  Feb.  10,  1784. 
His  sons  Elijah  and  Elisha  were  then  dead,  and  are  not  named. 
To  Samuel  he  gave  "all  his  land  lying  westward  and  northward  of 
the  way  that  leads  from  the  County  road,  near  his  son  Cornelius's 
dwelling  house,  to  Rendevous  Creek,  with  the  dwelling  house  in 
which  he  now  lives,  and  all  other  buildings  standing  on  the 
premises,"  with  one  half  of  the  fish  house  and  the  land  on  which 
it  stood,  one  half  of  his  wharf,  and  one  half  of  the  way  to  the 
same.  His  son  Joseph  was  dead.  To  his  widow,  Elizabeth,  he 
gave  a  right  in  the  house  he  devised  to  the  sons  of  his  son  Josiah, 
and  to  his  grand-daughter  Mary  £30  in  silver  money.  To  his 
daughter.  Widow  Lydia  Sturgis,  he  gave  the  westerly  part  of  the 
dwelling  house  where  he  then  lived,  and  one  half  of  the 
furniture.  To  Cornelius  he  gave  one  half  of  his  fish  house, 
half  of  his  wharf,  £15  in  silver  money,  and  all  the  debts 
he  then  owed  him.  In  consideration  of  tlie  larger  proportion  of 
the  estate  given  to  Samuel,  the  latter  was  to  make  no  demand  on 
Cornelius,  Jr.,  for  debts  due.  His  son  Josiah  was  then  dead. 
To  his  grand-sons,  Robert,  Uriel,  and  Josiah,  the  house  in  which 
their  father  Josiah  had  lived,  with  one  and  one  half  acres  of 
land,  being  the  east  part  of  his  homestead  next  the  lane,  and 
£6  each  when  21 ;.  to  his  two  grand-daughters,  Deborah  and 
Mehitable,  children  of  his  son  Josiah.  £6  each  in  silver  money. 


236        GENEALOGICAL    NOTES    OF    BAKNSTABLE    FAMILIES. 

To  his  daughter,  Widow  Sarah  Lawrence  £30  iu  silver,  his  desk, 
one  half  of  his  furniture,  and  one  quarter  of  his  pew  in  the  East 
Meeting  House. 

He  made  Samuel,  Cornelius,  and'Lydia,  his  residuary  lega- 
tees, giving  them  his  grist  mill,  the  easterly  part  of  his  dwelling- 
house,  wood-lots  and  meadows  and  all  his  other  real  and  personal 
estate  not  otherwise  specifically  devised.  His  will  was  witnessed 
by  Edward  Bacon  and  his  wife  Rachael,  and  Mercy  Crocker. 

The  sons  and  daughters  of  Cornelius  Crocker  were  all  per- 
sons of  more  than  ordinary  intellectual  vigor.  Josiah  received  a 
public  education,  and  all  of  the  family  were  well  educated  for  the 
times.  They  were  close  observers  of  passing  events,  and  were 
all  distinguished  for  their  conversational  powers,  and  their  ready 
command  of  language.  The  children  of  Cornelius  Crocker,  born 
in  Barnstable,  were :  1,  Elijah,  born  April  12,  1729;  2,  Elisha, 
born  Sept.  14,  17.30.  Both  died  in  early  life,  and  are  not  named 
in  the  will  of  their  father.  3,  Samuel,  born  July  29,  1732  ;  4, 
Joseph,  born  April  12,  1734;  5,  Lydia,  April  14,  1739;  6, 
Cornelius,  born  Aug.  21,  1740;  7,  Josiah,  born  Dec.  20,  1744, 
and  8,  Sarah,  whose  name  is  not  on  the  town  records,  born  in  the 
year  1749. 

Capt.  Samuel  Crocker,  son  of  Cornelius,  a  man  of  note  dur- 
ing the  Revolutionary  struggle,  man-ied  April  8,  1753,  by  David 
Gorham,  Esq.,  Elizabeth,  daughter  of  Capt.  Samuel  Lumbert. 
She  died  of  consumption  June  13,  1757,  aged  27.  He  married, 
for  his  second  wife,  her  sister  Anna,  May  29,  1760.  His  children 
were:  1,  Abigail,  July  1,  1753;  2,  Elijah,  Oct.  27,  1755;  3, 
Elizabeth,  Feb.  24,  1767;  4,  Anna,  April  7,1766;  5,  Elisha, 
Aug.  30,  1767  ;  6,  Ezekiel,  Jan.  20,  1770  ;  and  7,  Susanna,  July 
7,  1773.  Elijah,  I  think,  died  early  in  life.  Elizabeth  lived  to 
be  aged,  and  died  unmarried.  Anna  married  Isaac  Bacon,  Jr., 
July  1,  1793,  died  early  leaving  a  large  family.  Elisha  was  a  sea 
captain,  had  a  family,  and  resided  in  the  ancient  gambrel  roofed 
house  on  Rendevous  Lane.  He  died  May  15,  1817.  Ezekiel,  the 
last  survivor  of  the  family,  married  Temperance  Phinney  Dec.  28, 
1794 ;  kept  a  public  house  where  Judge  Day  now  resides. 
Susannah,  married  .July  14,  1796,  John  Bursley,  father  of  the 
present  David  Bursley,  Esq.,  and  was  the  mother  of  a  numerous 
family. 

Joseph  Crocker,  son  of  Cornelius,  married  Jan.  12,  1758, 
Elizabeth  Davis.  He  had  Joseph  Nov.  15,  1760,  who  died  young, 
and  Mary  born  Dec.  28,  1763.  He  died  early.  His  widow  died 
Feb.  7,  1811,  aged  75,  and  her  daughter  Mary  or  Polly  married 
Isaac  Lothrop  Oct.  1796. 

Lydia,  daughter  of  Cornelius,  married  April  3,  1760,  Capt. 
Samuel  Sturgis,  3d.  He  was  a  captain  of  ^  Company  at  Cape 
Breton,  and  died  Aug.  9,  1762,  aged  25.     She  died  April  9,  1825, 


GENEALOGICAL    NOTES    OF    BARNSTABLE    FAMILIES.         237 

aged  86,  having  lived  a  widow  62  years  and  8  months.  She  was 
born  in  the  house  which  has  been  named,  near  the  Agricultural 
Hall ;  but  resided  nearly  all  her  life  in  the  house  where  she  died, 
and  widely  known  as  "Aunt  Lydia's  tavern."  She  had  an  only 
child,  Sally,  who  married  Daniel  Crocker.  He  died.  April  22, 
1811,  aged  49.  She  died  Oct.  3,  1837,  aged  77,  leaving  many 
descendents.  A  grandson,  Barnabas  Davis,  Esq.,  of  Boston, 
now  owns  the  ancient  tavern. 

Cornelius  Crocker,  Jr.,  married  Abiah  Hinckley.  He  had 
two  sons  ;  Naler,  born  in  1773,  many  years  one  of  the  selectmen 
and  town  clerk  of  Barnstable.  He  died  March  28,  1829,  he  had 
a  son  Henry,  now  living,  and  a  dauighter  Abiah,  first  wife  of 
Enoch  T.  Cobb.  Cornelius  also  had  a  son  Asa,  born  in  1776. 
He  taught  a  school  in  Barnstable  several  years  and  died  unmarried 
April  17,  1822,  aged  46.  Cornelius  Crocker,  Jr.,  died  early,  and 
his  widow  Abiah  survived  him  many  years,  dying  June  7,  1823, 
aged  77.  For  many  years  she  kept  a  tavern  in  the  dwelling  house 
now  owned  by  Dr.  Allen,  and  in  the  more  ancient  house  that 
stood  on  the  same  spot.  She  was  a  strong-minded,  intelligent 
woman,  and  of  good  business  capacity.  One  anecdote  respecting 
her  illustrates  her  character  for  firmness.  After  the  death  of  her 
husband  Col.  Freeman  called  at  her  house  on  a  court  week,  and 
asked  to  have  lodgings.  Her  reply  was,  "my  house  is  full,  sir." 
"But,"  said  the  Col.  "my  friends  put  up  here,  and  I  would  like  to 
be  with  them."  Her  reply  was,  "my  house  is  full,  sir."  Col. 
F.,  a  little  excited,  said,  "madam,  you  are  licensed  to  keep  a 
public  house,  and  are  bound  to  accommodate  travellers  and  per- 
sons attending  the  Courts."  "Yes,"  said  she,  "but,  if  my  house 
was  not  full,  (pointing  to  the  marks  on  the  summer  beam)  there 
would  be  no  room  for  Col.  Freeman."  To  this  he  responded, 
"It  is  time  to  forget  those  old  matters  and  bury  the  hatchet." 
"Yes,"  said  Mrs.  Crocker,  "but  the  aggressor  should  dig  the 
grave. 

Joseph  Crocker,  son  of  Cornelius,  graduated  at  Harvard 
College  in  1765.  He  did  not  take  the  degree  of  Master  of  Arts. 
He  resided  in  the  two  story  single  house  east  of  his  sister  Lydia's 
tavern,  and  afterwards  owned  by  Freeman  Hinckley.  He  taught 
a  school  some  little  time  in  Barnstable ;  but  on  account  of  his 
feeble  health  and  tory  proclivities,  was  not  much,  if  any,  in  public 
life.  He  married  Oct.  6,  1765,  immediately  after  leaving  college, 
Deborah,  daughter  of  Hon.  Daniel  Davis,  and  had  five  children, 
Robert,  Uriel,  Josiah,  Deborah,  and  Mehitable.  He  died  of 
consumption  May  4,  1780,  in  the  36th  year  of  his  age,  and  is 
buried  in  the  new  grave  yard  on  Cobb's  Hill.  His  widow  married 
Benjamin  Gorham,  Jr.,  and  had  by  him  Abigail,  who  married 
Aug.  4,  1803,  Capt.  Henry  Bacon.  Uriel  Crocker  settled  in 
Boston,  and  has  a  son  of  the  same  name  now  living.     Deborah 


238        GENEALOGICAL    NOTES    OE    BARNSTABLE    FAMILIES. 

married  John  Lotlirop ;  Mehitable,  Joseph  Parker.  The  Wkl. 
Deborah  Gorham  died  in  1818,  aged  72. 

Sally  or  Sarah,  daughter  of  Cornelius,  married  Capt.  David 
Lawrence,  after  a  very  brief  eourtsliip.  He  was  a  sea  captain, 
and  was  the  first  who  displayed  the  Stars  and  Stripes  in  the  port 
of  Bristol,  England.  Dea.  Joseph  Hawes  of  Yarmouth,  was  his 
mate.  Capt.  Lawrence  was  consumptive  and  was  unable  to  per- 
form his  duties  during  the  voyage,  and  died  soon  after  his  return, 
on  the  3d  of  October,  1783,  aged  35  years.  She  survived  till 
Feb.  21,  1825,  when  she  died,  aged  76.  Mrs.  Lawrence  was 
distinguished  for  her  conversational  power.  She  had  read  all  the 
current  literature  of  the  day.  Her  friends  were  among  the  lead- 
ing men  of  the  times,  and  she  was  well  versed  in  local  history, 
and  in  all  the  leading  topics  of  conversation  in  her  day.  Her 
wit  was  keen  and  cut  without  seeming  to  give  offence.  She  was 
not  fastidious,  and  the  point  of  her  wit  was  never  blunted  in  order 
to  avoid  an  allusion  which  prudery  might  condemn.  She  was 
open,  candid,  and  decided  in  all  her  opinions,  and  in  the  expres- 
sion of  them,  her  wit  often  sparkled  with  a  brilliancy  that  silenced 
opposition.  Her  instantaneous  reply  to  Col.  Freeman  and  other 
members  of  the  Whig  Vigilance  Committee,  when  they  inquired  of 
her  whether  she  was  whig  or  tory,  was  of  this  character,  and  will 
be  long  remembered.  She  belonged  to  the  same  school  of  politics 
with  her  brother  Samuel,  and  held  that  the  asking  of  young  ladies 
such  questions  was  not  only  uncalled  for  ;  but  impertinent.  Her 
most  cutting  rebuke  consisted  of  only  four  words  ;  and  that  com- 
mittee never  forgot  them,  and  ever  after  treated  her  with  the 
most  marked  respect.  I  have  often  heard  her  relate  the  story, 
but  the  reply  she  made  was  always  pronounced  in  a  suppressed 
tone  of  voice. 

She  lived  a  widow  over  forty-one  years,  and  her  house  was 
the  resort  of  numerous  friends  who  appreciated  her  talents  and 
listened  with  delight  to  her  conversation.  Intellectually  she  never 
grew  old.  She  could,  without  seeming  effort,  adapt  herself  to  the 
old  and  the  young,  the  gay  and  the  religious.  She  could  discuss  the 
merits  of  the  last  novel,  or  the  doctrines  of  the  last  sermon.  Her 
friends  and  relatives  always  treated  her  with  marked  respect,  and 
the  survivors  still  fondly  cherish  her  memory. 

She  had  a  son  William,  who  was  a  hatter,  and  died  early  ;  and 
Lucy,  who  married  Holmes  Allen,  Esq.  He  built  the  house  now 
owned  by  Mr.  Frederick  Cobb.  He  was  a  lawyer,  a  man  esteemed 
for  his  talents  and  legal  knowledge  ;  but  unfortunately  became  in- 
temperate, and  died  in  early  life,  leaving  an  only  child,  Heni-y 
Holmes  Allen,  born  Aug.  14,  1801.  He  was  three  days  my  sen- 
ior. We  were  school-mates  and  play-fellows  in  early  life,  and  as- 
sociates in  manhood.  He  was  honest  and  honorable  ;  kind,  gen- 
erous, sympathetic — a  man  who  never  had  an  enemy.     He  married 


GENEALOGICAL    NOTES    OF    BARNSTABLE    FAMILIES.         239 

Abigail  T.  Gorham,  daughter  of  Edward.  She  died  early,  and  he 
soon  after  died  in  foreign  lands  ;  but  his  body  lies  entombed  beside 
that  of  his  wife.  He  left  no  issue,  and  having  no  near  relatives,  he 
devised  his  estate  to  the  Fraternal  Lodge,  of  which  he  was  an 
active  member. 

(23)  Thomas  Crocker,  son  of  Dea.  Job  Crocker,  born  19th 
Jan.  1674,  married  '23d  Dec.  1701,  Elizabeth  Lothrop,  widow  of 
"John  Lothrop,  son  of  Barnabas  Lothrop,  Esq."  She  was  the 
eldest  child  of  James,  son  of  James  G-reen  of  Charlestown,  and 
was  born  Nov.  14,  1662,  and  was  twelve  years  older  than  her 
second  husband,  and  five  older  than  her  first.  She  died  in  Hing- 
ham  Aug.  1,  1752,  aged  89.  By  her  first  husband  she  had  a  son 
and  a  daughter.  The  latter  died  earlj',  and  the  son  at  20.  Mr. 
Thomas  Crocker  resided  in  the  East  Parish,  and  is  styled  in  the 
records  "a  dealer."  He  died  in  1718,  insolvent.  His  indebted- 
ness was  large,  and  his  creditors  received  from  his  estate  2 
shillings  in  the  pound,  per  cent.  His  children  born  in  Barnstable 
were : 

91.  I.     Walley,  30th  Julv,  1703,  died  2d  Oct.  1703-. 

92.  11.     Thomas,  26th  Aug.  1704. 

93.  III.     Walley,  26th  June  1706. 

His  son  Thomas  married  1,  Mehitable,  daughter  of  Joseph 
Dimmock,  1727.  She  died  March  13,  1728-9,  and  he  married  2d, 
Oct.  20,  1730,  Rebecca,  daughter  of  Benjamin  Hamblin.  Mr. 
Thomas  Crocker  died  Dec.  5,  1756,  aged  51,  and  his  wife  May  9, 
1756,  aged  46.  He  resided  in  the  easterly  part  of  the  West 
Parish.  His  children  were  :  1,  Walley,  born  Feb.  28,  1727-8  died 
Aug.  23,  following;  2,  Elizabeth,  born  5th  Dec.  1731  ;  3,  Sarah, 
born  26th  Feb.  1733-4;  4,  Rebecca,  30th  Nov.  1735;  5,  Hope, 
March  1738 ;  6,  Thomas,  23d  Jan.  1740 ;  7,  Esther,  28th  Aug. 
1743;  8,  Barnabas,  26th  Oct.  1746;  9,  Huckins,  15th  March, 
1748 ;  10,  Mary,  31st  Aug.  1753.  Elizabeth  of  this  family 
married,  in  1757,  George  Conant,  and  died  Sept.  17,  1759  ;  Sarah, 
married.  May  19,  1757,  Joseph  Blish,  Jr.  ;  Rebecca  married  Oct. 
25,  1757,  Lemuel  Nye,  Jr.,  of  Sandwich;  Barnabas  married  at 
19,  March  24,  1765,  Ann  Smith  ;  Mary  died  unmarried. 

Walley  Crocker,  son  of  Thomas,  married,  Oct.  22,  1730, 
Abigail,  daughter  of  John  Annable.  He  had  born  in  Barnstable  : 
1,  Abigail,  Nov.  2,  1731;  2,  Temperance,  Dec.  18,  1733;  3, 
Walley,  April  18,  1737.  Temperance  married  April  5,  1759, 
Daniel  Carpenter. 

(25)  Dea.  John  Crocker,  son  of  Dea.  Job,  born  24,  1683, 
married  11th  Nov.  1704,  Hannah.  She  died  10th  Oct.  1720,  and 
he  married  2d,  22d  June,  1721,  Mary  Hinckley,  living  in  1731. 
It  appears  that  he  married  a  third  wife  Nancy,  her  grave  stones 
record  her  death  July  27,  1744,  aged  56.  Dea.  John  Crocker 
died  Feb.  7,  1773,  .aged  89  years  and  11   months,  (grave  stones). 


240        GENEALOGICAL    NOTES    OF    BARNSTABLE    FAMILIES. 

He  resided  on  the  westerly  part  of  his  father's  farm,  and  was 
many  years  a  deacon  of  the  West  Church.  His  children  born  in 
Barnstable  were : 

94.  I.  Abigail,  born  oth  Oct.  1705,  married  Oct.  28,  1731, 
George  Howland.  She  joined  the  West  Church  in  1728, 
and  after  marrige  was  dismissed  to  Deerfield. 

95.  11.  Zaccheus,  Aug.  1,  1707,  married  1734,  Elizabeth  Reals 
of  Hiugham.  His  children  were,  Joshua,  born  Aug.  6, 
1735 ;  Zaccheus  Dec.  1737  ;  Sylvanus,  baptized  Feb.  19, 
1739,  and  Hannah  born  June  21,  1743. 

96.  in.     John,  27  July  1710;  died  30th  May,  1711. 

97.  IV.  Ebenezer,  Nov.  1,  1713,  married  July  26,  1739, 
Elizabeth  Lovell,  Jr.,  and  had  James  Feb.  19,  1739-40;  2, 
Mary,  Nov.  7,  1744.  He  married  in  1746,  Zerviah,  daugh- 
ter  of    Kenelm   Winslow,  Esq.,   of  Harwich,   and  had   3, 

\       Alvan   Friday,   6th   Nov.    1747  ;  4,  Ashsah   Monday,  24th 

July,  1749  ;  5,  Ebenezer  Thursday,   26th   July,   1753,  died 

Feb.  17,   1817;  6,  Zerviah  Wednesday,  17th  July  1751  ;  7, 

Joshua   Friday,    4th  July   1755;  8,  Kenelm  Sunday,    14th 

Aug.    1757;  9,  George  Monday  18th  Feb.  1760;  10,  Zenas 

Friday,  25th  Dec.  1761  ;  11,  Heman,  April  14,  1764. 

There  were  four  Ebenezer  Crockers.     The  1st  son  of  Josiali 

died  in   1723 ;    2d,    a  son  of    Saumel,  born    1719,   removed  to 

East  Haddam  1751  ;  3,  a  son  of  Dea.  John,  born  in   1713 ;  4,  a 

son  of  Ebenezer,  born  1723.     Ebenezer,  son  of  John,  resided  at 

Cotuit,  and  the  house  which  he  built  there  is  still  owned  by   his 

descendants. 

John,  baptized  Oct.  16,  1715. 

98.  V.     Elizabeth,  baptized  Aug.  10,  1718. 

99.  VI.     Jabez,  16th  June,  1720,  died  11th  Dec.  1720. 

100.  VII.     John,  1st  April,  1722. 

101.  VIII.     Job,  29th  March,  1724. 

102.  IX.  Daniel,  1st  March,  1725-6,  married  three  wives,  1, 
Elizabeth  Childs,  May  19,  1748  ;  2,  Phebe  Winslow  of  Har- 
wich, 1755  ;  and  3,  Bathsheba  Jenkins.  His  children  were, 
1,  Job,  born  May  6,  1749,  removed  to  Western  New  York, 
and  has  descendants;  2,  Winslow,  Dec.   31,  1755,  resided 

at  West  Barnstable,  married  Blush,  had  a  family. 

Edward  W.  Crocker  of  Yarmouth,  is  of  this  family ;  3, 
Elizabeth,  March  14,  1770,  she  married,  1,  Heman  Crocker. 
Her  son,  Oliver  Crocker,  Esq.,  of  New  Bedford  is  now 
living,  and  2,  Elisha  Euggles,  of  Rochester ;  4,  Daniel, 
March  8,  1762,  married  Sally  Sturgis,  and  had  a  family ;  5, 
Mary,  July  11,  1767,  married  James  Davis;  6,  Abigail, 
Nov.  6,  1769,  married  Ebenezer  Bacon,  Esq. ;  7,  Joseph, 
Jan.  27,  1771,  married  Joanna  Bacon,  and  had  Walter, 
James,   and   others   now  living;  8,  Prince,   Sept.  6,  1772, 


GENEALOICAL    NOTES    OF    BARNSTABLE    FAMILIES.      241 

married  Martha  Nye,  and  has  descendants  living.  Joseph 
and  Prince  owned  and  occupied  the  ancient  Crocker  house, 
and  both  lived  to  extreme  old  age.  9,  Temperance,  born 
July  28,  1776,  married  Ezra  Crocker;  10,  David,  Feb.  21, 
1779,  married  Rachell  Bacon,  and  his  sons  Eben,  Frederick 
and  Henry,  and  daughter  Caroline,  are  now  living;  11, 
Josiah,  Aug.  24,  1781,  died  unmarried  at  New  Orleans. 
103-.    X.     Timothy,  Aug.  23,  1728. 

104.  XI.  Jonathan,  born  Nov.  22,  1731,  mawied  May  2,  1754, 
Sarah  Childs.  He  died  of  the  small  pox  Dec.  4,  1796,  and 
his  wife  Sarah  of  the  same  disease  Dec.  16,  1796.  He  was 
the  iirst  buried  in  the  Crocker  burying  ground.  He  has 
descendants  living. 

(30)  David  Crocker,  Esq.,  youngest  son  of  Dea.  Job 
Crocker,  born  5th  Nov.  1697,  graduate  of  Harvard  College  1716, 
resided  on  the  John  Crocker  farm  at  West  Barnstable.  He  was 
many  years  town  Clerk,  transcribed  the  ancient  town  records,  now 
lost.  The  records  of  the  births  of  the  Crockers  he  arranged 
genealogically.  He  was  many  years  one  of  the  board  of  select- 
men, and  in  1742  a  justice  of  the  Court  of  Common  Pleas.  He 
died  in  1764,  aged  67  years.  He  married  12th  Nov.  1724, 
Abigail,  daughter  of  Mr.  David  Loring,  and  Jan.  27,  1757,  Mrs. 
Mary  Stuart.     His  children  were  : 

105.  I.     A  son,  born  Jan.  9,  1725,  died  Feb.  19,  1725. 

106.  n.     David,  April  14,  1726,  died  June  28,  1734. 

107.  III.  Abigail,  May  20,  1728,  married  Jan.  10,  1754,  Seth 
Blossom. 

108.  IV.  William,  Dec.  8,  1730  (called  Jr.)  He  resided  in  the 
house  which  was  his  father's.  He  belonged  to  the  East 
Parish,  and  was  a  member  of  the  East  Church.  He  married 
twice,  1st  in  1753  Lydia  Knowles  of  Eastham.  She  died 
April  16,  1764,  and  he  married  2d,  Sept.  30,  1764,  Mary 
Cobb,  Jr.  He  died  May  3,  1819,  in  his  89th  year,  and  she 
died  May  20,  1817,  aged  85;  His  children  born  in  Barn- 
stable were:  1,  Abigail,  March  15,1754;  2,  David,  Aug. 
23,  1755  ;  3,  Temperance,  Jan.  2,  1763  ;  4,  Sarah,  June  26, 
1765;  5,  Mary,  Nov.  2,  1766;  6,  William,  Nov.  19,  1768: 
7,  Matthias,  July  26,  1770  ;  8,  Ebenezer,  baptized  July  26, 
1772  ;  9,  Loring,  born  March  18,  1774.  Of  this  family, 
William  resided  in  his  father's  estate,  and  died  June  24, 
1844,  and  his  brother,  Dea.  Ebenezer,  a  tanner,  did  also  in 
the  first  part  of  his  life.  He  removed  to  the  West,  where 
he  died  a  few  years  since.  Matthias  was  a  hatter  and 
resided  in  Boston.  Loring  was  largely  engaged  in  the  salt 
manufacture  at  the  common  field,  and  died  March  21,  1841. 
His  son  Loring  now  owns  his  manufactories. 

109.  V.     Alice,  born   April  18,  1757,  baptized  July   30th,  1758, 


242        GENEALOGICAL    NOTES    OF    BARNSTABLE    FAMILIES. 

and  in   the  church   records  called  the  daughter  of    "Squire 
David  and  Marv  Crocker." 

110.  VI.     Hannah,  Sept.  24,  Wednesday  [1759.J 

111.  VII.     Sarah,  Oct.  24,  Tuesday,  [1761.] 

112.  VIII.     Lydia,  Feb.  28,  [1762]  died  Sept.  24,  1763. 

(32)  Thomas  Crocker,  son  of  Josiah,  born  28th  May, 
1671,  married  25th  March,  1696,  Hannah,  [Green]  of  Boston. 
He  died  April,  17^8,  in  the  67th  year  of  his  age,  and  is  buried  at 
West  Barnstable.  He  resided  in  the  ancient  stone  house,  as  be- 
fore stated.  In  his  will  he  makes  provision  for  the  education  of 
his  son  Joseph  at  College.  His  wife,  Hannah  Crocker,  died  Jan. 
23d,  1728-9  in  the  53d  year  of  her  age.  Their  children  born  in 
Barnstable  were  : 

113.  I.     Tabitha,  Dec.  20th,  1698. 

114.  II.     Josiah,  21st,  April  1701,  died  Feb.  23d,  1728-9. 

115.  III.  Seth,  13th  June,  1708,  He  resided  at  West  Barn- 
stable on  the  estate  which  was  his  father's.  He  married 
three  wives,  1,  Joanna  Leavet,  April,  16th,  1730.  She 
died  Aug.  4th,  1732,  aged  20.  2d,  Temperance  Thacher  of 
Yarmouth,  June  1st,  1734.  She  died  j;uly  11th,  1736,  aged 
24.  3d,  Abigail,  daughter  of  Joseph  Blush,  1742.  He 
died  March  25th,  1770,  in  the  62d  year  of  his  age,  and  is 
buried  with  his  wives  in  the  West  Barnstable  grave  yard. 
By  his  first  wife  he  had  a  daughter  Hannah,  born  July  18th, 
1732,  baptized  July  23d,  1732.  This  child  was  of  feeble 
mind.  By  his  second  wife  he  had  Thomas,  born  June  8th, 
1735.  He  married  in  1756,  Mercy  Hamblen,  and  about  the 
year  1781  removed  to  Lee,  Mass.  He  had  a  large  estate, 
and  has  numerous  descendants.  There  have  been  some  re- 
markable instances  of  longevity  in  this  family. 

116.  IV.  Hannah,  born  8th  May,  1711,  married  July  25th, 
1744,  Jabez  Robinson  of  Falmouth? 

117.  V.     Thankful. 

118.  VI,  Joseph,  born  1715,  graduated  at  Harvard  College, 
1734.  He  was  ordained  Sept.  12,  1739,  pastor  of  the 
chm'ch  and  society  in  Sopth  Eastham,  now  Orleans.  He 
died  March  2d,  1772.  He  married  twice,  had  Josiah,  a 
graduate  of  Harvard  College,  1760 ;  Lucia,  who  married 
Ilev.  Simeon  William  of  Weymouth  ;  and  Ann,  who  married 
Rev.  Wm.  Shaw  of  Marshfieid.  Of  the  family  of  Rev. 
Josiah  Crocker,  the  Orleans  records  furnish  little  ir^orma- 
tion.  His  wife.  Reliance,  died  in  1759,  aged  44.  He  had 
six  children  who  died  in  infancy  between  1741  and  1757. 
His  son  Josia,li  was  born  ^in  Orleans  iij  1740,  graduated  at 
Harvard  College,  ,in  1'('60,  arid  died  in,  Orleans  Jan.  20, 
1764,  aged  24.  He  had  received  a  call  to  ijecbrrie  pastor,  of 
tiie  second  Cliiiroii  in  Yarmouth,  (iibw  lieriiiis)  but  his  sick 


GENEALOGICAL    NOTES    OF    BARNSTABLE    FAMILIES.        243 

ness  and  death  prevented  his  ordination.  His  father 
caused  a  glowing  eulogium  to  be  inscribed  on  the  monument 
to  his  memorj  in  Orleans. 

The  bev.  Joseph   Crocker  was  a   Calvinist,  a  hard   student, 
and   a  well   read   theologian.     Wanting  the   graces   of   tlie 
orator,  he  never  was  a  popular  preacher. 
(38)  Capt.    Josiah  Crocker,|Son  of   Josiah,  born   8th  Feb, 
1684,    married   Desire,    daughter  of   Col.  John   Thacher  of   Yar- 
mouth, April    10,  1718.     He  was    a  sea  captain,  and  while  on  a 
voyage  to  Nova  Scotia,  was  betrayed  out  of  his  course  by  an 
Irishman  who  pretended  to  be  a  pilot.     He  and  all  his  crew  were 
sick  at  the  time.     He  died  on  board  his  own  vessel  in  St.  Mary's 
harbor,  Annapolis  Rial,  Oct.   10,  1721,  and  was  buried  at  Port 
Royal,  Oct.  14,  1721,  aged  37.     His  widow,  Mrs.  Desire  Crocker, 
died  in  Yarmouth,  on  the  morning  of  the   Sabbath,  May  6,  1722, 
and  is  buried  in  the  ancient  burying  ground  in  Yarmouth. 

He  had  two  children  born  in  Yarmouth. 
119.  I.  Josiah,  born  30th  Oct.  1719,  graduate  of  Harvard 
College,  1738,  and  ordained  May  19,  1742,  pastor  of  the 
church  in  Taunton,  He  entered  College  at  the  early  age  of 
15,  and  was  ordained  at  23.  He  was  of  an  ardent  tempera- 
ment, zealous,  earnest,  yet  tender  and  persuasive  in  his 
manner.  Like  other  zealous  men,  he  was  not  always  cau- 
tious in  his  expressions.  He  had  many  warm  friends,  and 
some  enemies.  His  call  to  the  Taunton  church  was  not 
unanimous,  and  there  were  always  some  who  opposed  him. 
He  was  dismissed  from  his  pastoral  charge  Dec.  1,  1765, 
but  continued  to  reside  in  Taunton  till  his  death.  He  was 
the  friend  of  Whitefield,  and  possessed  some  of  the  charac- 
teristics of  that  eminent  divine.  '  His  earnest,  persuasive 
manner,  drew  together  a  large  audience  when  it  was  known 
that  he  was  to  preach.  It  is  said  that  a  women  travelled 
from  Plymouth  on  foot,  carrying  a  child  in  her  arms  the 
whole  distance.  When  the  load  seemed  heavy,  or  the  way 
long,  she  would  comfort  herself  by  crying  out  at  the  top  of 
her  voice,  "Crocker's  ahead,  Crocker's  ahead,"  [See  Min- 
isters of  Taunton.]  He  married  twice.  His  first  wife  was 
Rebecca,  daughter  of  James  AUyn  of  Barnstable,  whom  he 
married  July  28,  1742,  She  died  Sept.  28,  1759.  He  mar- 
ried Nov.  5,  1761,  Hanriah,  daughter  of  Col.  Thos.  Cobb  of 
Attieboi'ough.  His  children  were  :  Josiah,  Benjamin,  AUyn, 
Joseph,  William,  Ebenezer,  Rebecca,  Leonard,  born  Oct.  2, 
1762,  and  Hahnab,  Oct.  18,  176,5.  He  died  Aug.  28,  1774, 
in  the  55th,  arid  not  the  53d  year  of  his  age,  as  inscribed  on 
his  tombstone.  A  similar  mistake  or  two  years  occurs  on 
the  monument  to  the  memory  oi  his  first  wife.  Tbe  Rev. 
Josiah  fcrocicer  iias  iriany  descendants  in  Taunton  and  other 


244        GENEALOGICAL    NOTES    OF    BARNSTABLE    FAMILIES. 

places.  His  grand-daughter,  Hannah  M.  Crocker,  was  the 
author  of  "The  Eights  of  Women,"  published  in  1818. 

120.  II.     Desire,  born  17th  Dec.  1721. 

(39)  Ebenezer,  son  of  Josiah,  born  May  30,  1687,  married 
May  22,  1715,  Hannah  Hall  of  Yarmouth.  He  died  18th  March, 
1722-3,  in  the  36th  year  of  his  age.  His  children  born  in  Barn- 
stable were  : 

121.  I.  Mehitable,  Sept.  16,  1716,  married  Nathan  Crocker, 
Jr.,  Dec.  27,  1739. 

122.  II.  Hannah,  Oct.  10,  1718,  married  Eben  Childs,  Jr., 
Jan.  15,  1747,  died  Feb.  23,  1755. 

123.  III.  Susannah,  Oct.  20,  1720,  mamed  George  Conant, 
Jan  30,  1755. 

124.  IV.     p:benezer,  March  2,  1722-3. 

(43)  Nathan,  son  of  Eleazer,  born  27th  April,  1685,  mar- 
ried, 10th  March,  1708-9,  Joannah  Bursley.  He  was  a  farmer, 
and  i-esided  jn  the  old  stone  fort.     His  children  were  : 

125.  I.  Jabez,  born  20th  June,  1709.  He  married,  July  6, 
1732,  Deliverance  Jones;  Feb.  9,  1737-8,  Mary  Baker;  and 
afterwards  Eemember  Fuller,  and  had  six  children :  1 , 
Anna,  March  6,  173-,  married  Benj.  Howland  March  15, 
1763  ;  2,  Deliverance,  May  7,  1740  ;  3,  Asa,  Sept.  4,  1741, 
4,  Ruth,  Aug.  25,  1743  ;  5,  Lot,  baptized  March  31,  1745 ; 
6,  Mary,  baptized  June  21,  1747.  Feb.  1750,  Jabez 
Crocker  sold  his  house  and  the  lot  containing  two  acres  on 
which  it  stood,  to  his  brothei-  John  Crocker,  who  was  then 
called  third.  Charles  Gray  now  owns  the  laud-  It  was 
then  bounded,  northerly  by  the  high  way,  westerly  by 
Dexter's  lane,  southerly  by  land  of  Cornelius  Dexter,  and 
easterly  by  land  of  Col  Otis.  In  a  mortgage  deed,  dated 
10th  May,  1746,  he  names  his  brothers,  Benoni,  Nathan 
and  John,  and  his  cousin,  John  Crocker,  Jr. 

126.  II.     Benoni,  born   24th   Feb.   1711-12,  married,  Feb.    19, 

1736,  Abigail,  daughter  of  John  Bursley.  He  inherited  the 
old  stone  fort  in  which  he  resided,  and  to  which  he  made  an 
addition.     His    childred  were:  1,  Lemuel,   born  March   1, 

1737,  married  Sarah  Backus  of  Sandwich,  1763  ;  2,  Barna- 
bas. (There  is  a  blank  in  the  record  which  I  fill  with  the 
name  of  Barnabas.  Benoni  had  a  son  of  that  name  for 
whom  he  made  the  addition  to  his  house.)  3,  Abigail, 
born  May  22d,  1745  ;  4,  Abner,  Aug.  18th,  1747. 

127.  III.  Nattian,  born  7th  March  1713-14,  married  Mehitable, 
daughter  of  Ebenezer  Crocker,  Dec.  27th,  1739,  and  had 
ten  children:  1,  Enoch,  June  1st,  1741;  2,  Susannah, 
April  9th,  1743  ;  3,  Deborah,  March  30th,  1745  ;  4,  Aru- 
bah,  Aug.  14th  1747;  5,  Elijah,  Feb.  11th,  1749;  6, 
Nathan,  Aug.    10th  1753;  7,  Jonathan,  March    23d,  1756; 


qenkaLogioal  notes  oe  SarnsTable  families.      245 

8,  Mehitable,  June  8,  1768 ;  9,  David,  March  15th,  1761. 

128.  IV.  Isaac,  born  6th  May,  1719,  married,  Mafch  22d, 
1738-9,  Elizabeth  Fuller,  and  had  1,  Ansel,  Aug.  27th,- 
1739  ;  2,  Rebecca,  March  24th,  1740  ;  3,  Thomas,  Sept.  19th, 
1743;  4,  Josiah,  Oct.  14th,  1762  ;  5,  Ansel,  Jan.  22d, 
1767.  The  names  of  the  two  last  are  added  by  a  late  town 
clerk. 

129.  V.  John,  11th  Jan.  1721-2.  His  father,  in  a  deed  to  him, 
dated  Oct.  12th,  1744,  calls  him  3d.  He  was  in  the  ex" 
pedition  to  Cape  Breton,  and  to  distinguish  him  from  the 
others  of  the  same  name,  was  called  Cape  Breton  John. 

130.  VI.  Temperance,  born  Oct.  3d,  1724,  married  Joseph 
Annable,  Dec.  31st,  1744. 

(52)  William  Crocker,  son  of  Joseph,  born  25th  Aug. 
1679,  married,  by  Justice  Skiff  of  Sandwich,  Nov.  1705,  his 
cousin,  Mary  Crocker,  daughter  of  Josiah.  He  died  in  1741, 
in  the  62d  year  of  his  age,  his  mother.  Temperance,  a  daughter  of 
the  first  John  Bursley,  was  then  living.  In  his  will  dated  Feb. 
10th,  1740-1,  proved  July  8th,  1741,  names  his  wife  Mary  his  sons 
William  and  Joseph,  to  whom  he  gives  his  West  Barnstable  es- 
tate ;  and  Benjamin,  to  whom  he  devises  his  lands  in  Sandwich, 
and  meadows  at  Scorton.  He  also  named  his  daughters,  Mercy 
Blush  and  Mary  Beals,  and  his  "Hon'd  mother  Temperance 
Crocker,"  who  then  retained  the  improvement  of  his  estate.  He 
had  children  born  in  Barnstable,  namely  : 

131.  I.  Mercy,  22d  Sept.  1706,  married  Joseph  Blush  Oct. 
28th,  1730. 

132.  II.     A  son,  born  20th  June,  1708,  died  July  4,  1708. 

133.  III.     A  daughter,  still  born,  Aug.  3,  1709. 

134.  IV.  William,  born  9th  Sept.  1710.  He  resided  at  West 
Barnstable,  and  married,  in  1743,  Hannah  Baker,  and  had 
twelve  children.  He  is  called  Mr.  in  the  town  records,  then 
a  token  of  respect,  and  his  wife  Mrs.  Only  four  are  named 
on  the  town  records ;  but  the  names  of  all  are  on  the  church 
records.  1,  Marj'  (called  Mercy  on  the  church  records) 
born  March  25,  1745  ;  2,  William,  Feb.  6, 1744,  died  young  ; 
3,  Martha,  Nov.  28,  1748;  4,  Temperance,  Jan.  22,  1749; 
5,  Hannah,  baptized  April  22,  1751  ;  6,  Josiah,  July  5, 
1752;  7,  William  again,  Oct.  1753;  8,  Alice,  July  27, 
1755;  9,  Mercy,  Jan.  1,  1758;  10,  Josiah,  June  8,  1760; 
11,  Ephraim,  July,  26,  1761  ;  12,  Calvin,  May  1764.  The 
latter  was  the  late  Capt.  Calvin  Crocker,  who  has  descend- 
ants in  Barnstable. 

135.  V.  Alice,  born  Sept.  1712,  married  Stephen  Beals  of 
Hingham,  Sept.  16,  1736.  (In  the  abstract  of  his  father's 
will  I  have  the  name  Mary,  probably  an  error,  should  be 
Alice.) 


246   GENEALOGICAL  NOTES  OF  BARNSTABLE  FAMILIES. 

136.  VI.     Mary,  bom  Aug.  12,  1714. 

137.  VII.     Joseph,  bom  Dec.  1718. 

138.  VIII.  Beajamin,  March  20,  1720,  married  Bathsheba  Hall 
of  Yarmouth,  April  1747.     See  85.* 

(53)  Timothy,  son  of  Joseph  Crocker,  born  30th  April, 
1681,  resided  at  West  Barnstable.  He  was  a  merchant,  an  ensign 
in  the  militia,  as  his  grave  stone  informs  us,  and  a  justice  of  the 
peace.  He  was  married  27th  Oct.  1709,  by  Rev.  Jonathan 
Russell,  to  Mrs.  Melatiah,  daughter  of  his  uncle  Josiah  Crocker. 
His  children  were  : 

139.  I.  Jerusha,  born  12th  Dec.  1711.  She  married.  May  19, 
1741,  Mr.  Elijah  Deane  of  Raynham. 

140.  II.  Melatiah,  born  19th  March  1714,  married,  March  21, 
1734,  John  Sturgis,  Esq.,  of  Barnstable.  Her  children 
were,  Josiah,  born  Oct.  17,  1737,  Melatiah,  Oct.  11,  1739; 
Timothy  Crocker,  March  30,  1742  ;  Lucretia,  Oct.  14,  1743. 
The  latter  did  not  marry.  She  was  a  well  educated  and 
accomplished  lady,  resided  in  her  grand-father  Crocker's 
house,  and  taught  a  school  many  years.  A  large  proportion 
of  the  aged  at  West  Barnstable,  are  indebted  to  her  for 
their  early  education. 

141.  III.  Bathsheba,  born  2d  April,  1717,  married  Sept.  6, 
1738,  Rev.  Samuel  Tobey  of  Berkley.  He  was  born  in 
Sandwich  in  1715,  a  graduate  of  Harvard  College,  1733, 
ordained  Nov.  23,  1737.     He  had  twelve  children. 

142.  IV.  Abigail,  bom  April  2,  1721,  married  Sept.  2,  1740, 
Rev.  Rowland  Thacher,  pastor  of  the  church  at  Wareham. 
He  graduated  at  Harvard  College  in  1733. 

143.  V.  Martha,  born  26th  Dec.  1724,  married,  Feb.  2,  1744-5, 
Capt.  William  Davis,  of  Barnstable.  She  died  Jan.  5, 
1773,  aged  48.  Mrs.  Andrews  Hallett  of  Yarmouth,  has 
some  fine  specimens  of  worsted  work  embroidered  by  her 
grand-mother  Davis. 

The  dwelling  house  of  Timothy  Crocker,  Esq.,  stood  near 
where  Seth  Parker's  store  now  stands.  It  was  large,  two  stories 
high,  and  most  substantially  built.  The  style  was  that  of  the 
wealthy  among  the  first  settlers.  It  fronted  to  the  east,  the  gable 
being  towards  the  road,  aud  was  probably  built  as  early  as  1660. 
Who  was  the  first  owner  I  have  been  unable  to  ascertain.  In 
1686,  when  the  road, was  laid  out,  it  appears  to  have  been  owned 
and  occcupied  by  Increase  Clap  ;  but  I  doubt  whether  he  was  the 
first  owner.     In  1649  Mr.  Thomas  Daxter  resided  in  that  neigh- 


*In  1747  there  were  four  Beniamin  Crockers,  1,  Benjamin,  son  of  Josiah,  bom  in  1692, 
removed  to  Ipswieh;  2,  Benjamin,  son  of  Josepli  born  in  1696;  3,  Benjamin,  son  of  Samuel, 
born  1711;  4,  Benjamin,  son  ol  William,  bor.i  1720.  The  Benjamin,  who  married  in  1747, 
Bethsheba  Hall,  is  called  Jr.,  and  I  inferi'ed  from  the  fact,  that  there  was  then  an  older 
man  of  the  same  name  in  to^vn,  that  the  one  numbered  85,  X,  was  the  person  intended.  I 
am  now  inclined  to  think  that  138,  III,  was  the  person  intended.  An  investigation  of  the 
wills,  which  I  have  not  the  time  to  do,  will  settle  the  question. 


GENEALOGICAL    NOTES    OF    BARNSTABLE    FAMILIES.         247 

borhood,  and  owned  the  land  bordering  on  Dexter's  Lane ;  but 
whether  his  land  extended  so  far  east,  I  have  no  means  of 
ascertaining.  The  Rowley's  who  removed  to  Falmouth  about  the 
year  1661,  owned  land  in  the  vicinity.  Dea.  William  Crocker 
owned  the  land  on  the  east  at  the  settlement  of  the  town,  and  it 
was  afterwards  owned  by  his  son  John.  The  exact  bounds  of  this 
land  it  would  perhaps  be  now  difficult  to  ascertain. 

This  ancient  mansion,  while  owned  by  Timothy  Crocker, 
Esq.,  was  kept  in  good  repair,  and  elegantly  fuinished.  His 
family  ranked  among  the  aristocracy  of  those  daj's.  His 
daughters  were  well  educated  and  accomplished  ladies,  and  his 
house  was  the  resort  of  the  learned  and  the  fashionable.  The 
husbands  of  all  the  daughters,  excepting  Martha,  were  men  who 
had  been  liberally  educated.  Martha  had  many  suitors,  and  some 
of  the  tea-table  talk  of  those  days  is  reported  by  her  grand- 
children. She  might  have  married  one  who  was  afterwards  one  of 
the  most  distinguished  and  influential  citizens  of  Barnstable. 

Timothy  Crocker,  Esq.,  died  Jan.  31,  1737,  in  the  57th  year 
of  his  age,  and  is  buried  in  the  West  Barnstable  grave  yard.  I 
do  not  find  the  record  of  the  death  of  his  wife.  She  died  a  short 
time  previous  to  her  husband.  His  will  was  made  four  days 
previous  to  his  "decease.  He  gave  £10  to  Rev.  Jonathan  Russell, 
£10  to  Mr.  Joseph  Crocker,  Jr.,  and  the  same  sum  to  the  poor  of 
the  town.  He  divides  his  estate  equally  among  his  daughters, 
excepting  to  Jerusha,  to  whom  he  gave  £10  over  and  above  her 
share.     Mr.  John  Bursley  was  executor. 

His  estate  was  apprised  at  £6  607,7,2  in  old  tenor  currency, 
equal  to  about  $3,000  in  silver  money.  The  merchandise  in  his 
warehouse  was  apprised  at  £1,483,10;  his  homestead,  including 
all  his  buildings  and  lands,  at  £1,020,  equal  to  only  $460  in  silver. 
After  the  payment  of  his  debts,  there  was  only  the  real  estate 
and  £1,949,14  2  of  the  personal  estate  remaining,  equal  to  about 
$300  in  silver  to  each  of  the  heirs. f 

In  later  times  the  north  part  of  the  house  was  owned  by  his 
grand-daughter,  Lucretia  Sturgis,  the  school  mistress,  a  maiden 
lady  who  is  kindly  remembered  by  the  aged  at  West  Barnstable  ; 
and  the  south  pari?  by  Nathan  Foster. 

Conclusion. — Here  I  rest ;  not  because  my  materials  are  ex- 
hausted, but  because  I  am.  Respecting  the  early  families  I  have 
studied  to  be  accurate,  to  the  later  families  I  have  not  given  so 
much  attention.  Respecting  the  "Crocker  Quarrels,"  as  they  are 
called  on  the  records,  I  have  endeavored  to  be  impartial,  and  have 
softened  many  harsh  expressions  that  I  found  in  my  notes,  and 
have  omitted  some  circumstances  which  perhaps  others  may  think 

t  The  vei-y  low  prices  at  which  the  real  estate  and  the  furniture  was  apprised,  indicates 
that  a  portion  of  the  apprisal  was  in  lawful  money — that  is,  that  the  pound  was  equal  to 
^3,33  in  silver.  His  plate  and  silver  was  apprised  at  £73,10,  his  looking  glass  and  p  'tures 
at  £5,5,  and  his  Indian  girl  at  £5,  about  two  dollars.  If  she  was  worth  anything,  it  was  a 
very  low  price  to  apprise  her  at. 


'24:8       GENEALOGICAL   NOTES    OF    BARNSTABLE   FAMILIES. 

important.  If  I  have  fallen  into  errors,  I  shall  be  happy  to 
make  the  corrections.  The  part  which  the  Crockers  played  in  the 
Revolution,  was  one  not  to  be  omitted.  It  could  not  be  examined 
without  noticing  the  parts  which  others  acted  in  the  drama.  I  do 
not  justify  the  Crockers,  yet  I  do  not  believe  them  to  be  the  worst 
of  men,  neither  do  I  believe  that  Col.  Nathaniel  Freeman  was  a 
man  without  fault.  The  facts  will  not  justify  either  conclusion. 
Why,  then,  the  attempt  to  shield  their  acts  from  criticism.  When 
such  attempts  are  made,  most  men  think  there  is  something  wrong 
at  the  bottom.  I  may  attempt,  by  and  by,  to  do  justice  to  the 
character  of  Col.  Freeman  as  a  man  and  patriot ;  but  not  by 
drawing  a  veil  over  his  faults.  A  very  few  among  the  Crockers 
and  the  Freemans  object  to  certain  portions  of  my  article.  I 
was  aware  when  writing  those  portions,  that  I  was  treading 
on  the  scoria  of  a  yet  smouldering  volcano,  which  a  breath  would 
fan  into  activity.  I  hear  the  distant  rumblings  of  the  approaching 
earthquake ;  but  do  not  yet  fear  that  I  shall  be  engulfed 
thereby. 


CLAP. 


Extensive  genealogies  of  the  Claps  have  been  printed. 
Many  of  this  name  came  over  and  settled  in  Dorchester  and 
vicinity.  Two  of  the  name  were  early  in  Barnstable ;  but  no 
descendants  remain.  Eleazer,  a  son  of  Dea.  Thomas,  of  Wey- 
mouth and  Scituate,  was  a  soldier  in  King  Phillip's  war,  and  was 
slain  at  Rehobeth  March  26,  1675.  He  had  no  family  in 
Barnstable. 

Increase,  resided  at  West  Barnstable,  married,  Oct.  1675 
Elizabeth,  Widow  of  Nathaniel  Goodspeed,  and  daughter  of  John 
Bursley.  His  children  born  in  Barnstable  were:  1,  John,  Oct. 
1676  ;  2,  Charitv,  March,  1677  ;  3,  Thomas,  Jan.  1681,  died  Jan. 
1683  ;  4,  Thomas,  Dec.  1684. 

Increase  Clap's  house  was  on  the  south  side  of  the  road  a 
little  east  of  Dexter's  lane.  He  purchased  his  estate  probably  of 
the  Rowleys,  when  they  removed  to  Falmouth,  who  were  earlj' 
settlers  in  that  neighborhood,  and  was  a  proprietor  of  the  com- 
mon lands  "in  Rowley's  right."  He  was  living  in  1697.  Several 
of  the  Clap  family  of  Scituate  intermarried  with  the  Bournes  and 
Gorhams,  of  Barnstable. 


CAM  MET. 


I  do  not  find  this  name  in  the  works  of  Savage,  Bond, 
Mitchell,  or  Hinman.  Peter  Cammet  was  the  first  of  the  name 
in  Barnstable.  He  married.  May  4,  1741,  Thankful  Bodfish,  ai:d 
had  Hannah  26,  1742,  and  David  Sept.  25,  1744.  Hannah 
married,  in  1765,  John  Bates,  and  those  of  the  name  in  Barn- 
stable are,  I  think,  descendants  of  David. 


COTELLE. 


Peter  Cotelle  was  a  Frenchman.  He  resided  in  the  easterly 
part  of  the  West  Parish,  ,in  a  small  gambrel-roofed  house, 
embowered  in  trees  and  shrubbery — an  exquisite  little  place  which 
he  took  pleasure  in  adorning.  He  was  a  tinker,  shrewd  in  making 
a  trade,  and  it  is  said  that  he  would  take  advantage  of  his  pre- 
sumed imperfect  knowledge  of  English,  to  drive  a  hard  bargain. 
He  also  kept  a  small  grocery  store.     He  has  descendants. 


GANNON. 


This  is  not  a  common  name  in  Barnstable,  or  in  any  part  of 
New  England.  John  Cannon  came  over  in  the  Fortune  in  1621. 
He  was  not  of  Plymouth  in  1627.  Whither  he  i-emoved  or  went 
hence  is  unknown.  There  was  a  Robert  Cannon  of  New  London, 
in  1678,  and  one  of  the  same  name  in  Essex  County  in  1680, 
wliose  wife's  name  was  Sarah.  Mr.  Savage  states  that  there  was 
one  of  the  name  in  Sandwich  as  early  as  1650.  Capt.  John 
Cannon  was  of  Norwalk,  Conn.,  1750. 

The  earliest  record  of  the  name  in  Barnstable  is  April  12, 
1691,  where  Joanna  Cannon  joined  the  church.  On  the  following 
Sabbath  her  children,  John,  Philip,  Timothy,  Nathan,  and  Eliza- 
beth, were  baptized.  Of  these,  Timothy  is  again  named  on  the 
records.     He  married,  Nov.  9,   1711,  Elizabeth,  widow  of  Isaac 


GENEALOGICAL    NOTES    OF    BARNSTABLE    FAMILIES.         251 

Hamblen.  The  names  of  his  children  are  not  on  the  Barnstable 
records.  Ebenezer  was  probably  his  son,  and  Joanna,  who  married, 
July  7,  1735,  Benjamin  Bursley,  was  probably  a  daughter. 

P^benezer  Cannon  married,  in  1735,  Mercy  Blossom;  July 
30,  1753,  Patience  Goodspeed.  His  children  born  in  Barnstable 
were : 

I.  Ebenezer,  March   19,  1736-7,  married,  in   1761,  Experience 
Tupper  of  Dartmouth.* 

II.  Ruth,  Jan.  18,  1738-9. 

III.  Nathan,  April  10,  1741,  married,  March  23,  1763,  Thankful 
Bassett. 

IV.  Joanna,    Sept.  4,   1743,  married,   Nov.   28,  1760,  Bezalee 
Waste,  of  Dartmouth. 

V.  Joseph,  Dec.  14,  1745. 

VI.  Timothy,  baptized  June  17,  1750. 

VII.  Mercy,  baptized  June  30,  1754. 
VIII    Ebenezer,  baptized  Jan.  30,  1756.* 

IX.  Ira,  baptized  Oct.  12,  1740. 

X.  Ziba,  baptized  Aug.  1762. 

*  The  Ebenezer  who  was  published  to  Deliverance  Tupper  in  1761,  is  called  Jr. ;  the 
Ebenezer  baptized  June  30,  1756,  is  called  son  of  Ebenezer  and  Patience.  It  is  probable 
that  there  was  jet  another  Ebenezer. 


CUDWORTH. 


GEN.  JAMES  CUDWOETH. 

Little  is  known  of  the  early  history  of  this  most  excellent 
man.  It  is  probable  that  he  came  to  Boston  in  1632,  with  his 
friend,  Mr.  Hatherly,  in  the  ship  Charles,  from  London.  In 
September  1634,  he  was  a  householder  in  Scituate,  and  a  freeman 
of  the  colony  of  New  Plymouth.  His  house  was  one  of  the  nine 
first  built  in  that  town,  and  is  described  as  a  "small,  plaine, 
palizadoe  house."  This  he  sold  to  Goodman  Ensign,  and  in  1636 
built  on  his  lot  near  the  bridge  at  the  harbor. 

Mr.  Cudworth  and  his  wife  joined  Mr.  Lothrop's  church  Jan. 
18,  1634-5,  and  till  the  meeting-house  was  completed,  in  November 
1636,  the  congregation  frequently  met  on  the  Sabbath,  and  on 
other  special  occasions,  to  worship  in  his  "small,  plaine,  palizadoe 
house." 

In  1636  he  was  a  member  of  the  Committee  appointed  by  the 
Court,  to  revise  the  Colonial  laws  ;  in  1637  he  was  constable  of 
Scituate;  and  .Jan.  22,  1638-9,  one  of  the  grantees  of  the  lands 
in  Sippican,  where  Mr.  Lothrop  and  a  portion  of  his  church  then 
proposed  to  remove.  In  1640*  he  removed  to  Barnstable,  and 
was  elected  that  year  a  deputy  to  the  Colony  Court.  In  the  list 
of  Deputies  at  the  June  term  his  name  is  underscored,  and  that 
of  jMr.  Thomas  Dimmock  written  against  it.  In  a  subsequent 
entry  in  the  same  record  it  is  stated  that  Mr.  Cudworth  was  then 
an  inhabitant  of  Scituate,  and  if  so,  was  not  eligible  as  a  member 
from  Barnstable,  and  therefore  Mr.  Dimmock  was  elected  in  his 
place.  It  is  probable  that  Mr.  Cudworth  came  to  Barubtable 
in  the  Spring  of  1640  ;  but  did  not  become  a  permanent  resident 

*Mr.  Freeman  says  he  came  to  Barnstable  in  1639 ;  Mr.  Deane  says  in  1642.  The  latter 
is  certainly  wrong,  and  after  a  careful  examination  of  the  records,  I  find  no  positive  evi- 
dence that  Mr.  Freeman  is  in  the  right.  He  certainly  did  not  come  in  May,  1639,  with 
Messrs.  Hull  and  Dimmock,  and  I  find  no  evidence  tliat  he  came  in  the  following  October 
with  Mr.  Lothrop.  Some  difference  ^  about  this  time,  had  arisen  between  him  and  his 
friend  Hatherly,  and  in  the  entry  on  the  court  orders,  June  2, 1640,  it  is  distinctly  stated 
that  he  was  then  of  Scituate,  therefore  could  not  have  been  of  Barnstable  at  that  date, 
though  he  was  considered  one  of  the  proprietors. 


GENEALOGICAL    NOTES    OF    BARNSTABLE    FAMILIES.         253 

till  the  autumn  of  that  year. 

Mr.  Cudworth's  name  appears  only  once  on  the  records  of 
the  town  of  Barnstable  now  preserved.  It  occurs  on  the  list  of 
townsmen  and  proprietors  dated  Jan.  1643-4,  and  its  position 
thereon,  indicates  that  he  resided  in  the  vicinity  of  Coggin's 
Pond.  In  the  church  records  he  is  named  as  of  Barnstable 
April  18,  1641,  March  28,  1642,  and  June  24,  1644.  He 
conveyed,  by  deed,  his  second  house  and  lot  in  Scituate,  to 
Thomas  Ensign,  June  8,  1642.  In  that  deed  he  is  styled  "gentle- 
man of  Barnstable,"  Jan.  4,  1641-2,  he  is  called  an  inhabitant  of 
I  Barnstable,  though  at  that  date  he  was  absent  from  town.  In 
1642,  Mr.  Cudworth  was  again  elected  a  deputy  to  the  June  court 
from  Barnstable,  and  his  name  was  again  underscored,  and  Mr. 
Thomas  Dimmocli's  written  against  it.  The  fact  that  Barnstable 
was  entitled  to  only  two  deputies  at  thfe  June  terms  in  1640  and 
in  1642,  and  that  Anthony  Annable  and  Mr.  Dimmock  served  at 
those  terms,  seems  to  make  it  certain  that  Mr.  Cudworth  was 
sick,  or  absent  from  the  town  at  the  terms  named.  In  Aug.  1643, 
a  return  was  made  of  all  in  the  colony  "able  to  bear  arms."  JMr. 
Cudworth's  name  appears  on  the  return  from  Barnstable,  and  on 
that  from  Scituate.  On  the  former  it  is  crossed  out,  and  retained 
on  the  latter.  ^ 

These  few  isolated  facts  are  all  that  the  records  furnish 
relative  to  Mr  Cudworth's  residence  in  Barnstable.  The  records 
of  the  laying  out  of  the  lands  at  the  time  of  the  settlement,  being 
lost,  nothing  is  known  respecting  his  lands  in  Barnstable.  By  a 
municipal  regulation,  an  inhabitant  removing  from  town,  was 
obliged  to  offer  his  lands  to  the  other  inhabitants,  before  he  could 
legally  sell  to  a  stranger.  In  such  cases  a  memorandum  of  the 
transfer  was  made  on  the  proprietor's  records  now  lost.t 

Mr.  Hathway,  in  his  deed  to  the  Conihasset  Partners,  Dec. 
1,  1646,  styles  him  a"salter,"  that  is,  one  who  makes  or  sells  salt, 
and  this  fact,  perhaps,  explains  the  uncertainty  of  his  place  of 
residence  from  1639  to  1646.  He  had  a  salt  work  at  Scituate, 
which  it  does  not  appear  that  he  sold  on  his  removal  to  Barn- 
stable. This  required  his  attention  at  certain  seasons  of  the  j'ear, 
and  explains  why  he  was  so  often  absent  from  Barnstable.  A 
salt  work  was  erected  in  Barnstable  very  early,  on  the  point  of 
land  on  the  west  of  the  entrance  of  Rendevous  Creek,  still  known 

t  Thomas  Bird,  Byrd,  or  Bourd,  was  at  this  time  a  resident  in  Barnstable,  and  a  ser- 
vant  of  Mr.  Cudworth.  His  father,  also  named  Thomas,  was  one  of  the  earliest  settlers  in 
Scituate,  and  a  freeman  in  1633.  There  was  a  man  of  the  same  name  at  Hartford,  and 
another  iit  Dorchester,  one  of  whom  was  perhaps  the  same  who  was  at  Barnstable.  As 
Thomas  Bird  resided  only  a  short  time  in  Barnstable,  I  have  not  taken  the  trouble  to 
investigate  his  history.  In  a  notice  of  the  criminal  calendar  of  Barnstable,  nnder  the  title 
of  Casely,  I  'perhaps  ought  to  have  mentioned  the  crime  of  Bird.  In  Jan.  1641-2,  for 
running  away  irom  his  master  and  breaking  into  one  or  more  houses  in  Barnstable,  and 
stealing  therefrom  "apparel  and  victuals,"  he  was  sentenced  to  be  whipt,  once  in  Barn- 
stable and  once  in  Plymouth.  His  father  settled  with  iv^r  Cudworth  for  the  tijne  Thomas 
had  to  serve,  and  the  young  man  was  released  from  the  messenger's  hands,  though  not 
absolved  from  the  punishment  of  his  crimes.    He  afterwards  resided  in  Scituate. 


254        GENEALOGICAL    NOTES    OF    BAKNSTABLE    FAMILIES. 

as  Saltern  point.  This  word,  Saltern,  has  now  become  nearly 
obsolete.  It  means  a  salt  work,  a  building  in  which  salt  is  made 
by  boiling  or  solar  evaporation.  On  some  ancient  records  that 
point  is  called  "salt-pond"  point.  Who  owned  or  who  established 
this  ancient  saltern  I  have  been  unable  to  ascertain.  It  was 
situated  on  the  Lothrop  land,  on  a  parcel  that  from  the  situation, 
I  should  judge  was  owned  by  the  Rev.  John,  and  afterwards  by 
his  widow  Ann.  Neither  in  the  wills  nor  in  the  settlement  of  the 
estates  of  the  Lothrops  is  any  reference  had  to  the  salt-work,  and 
I  am  of  the  opinion,  if  the  facts  in  relation  to  the  matter  are  ever 
ascertained,  they  will  prove  that  G-en.  James  Cudworth  was  the 
first  who  manufactured  salt  in  Barnstable.  | 

Before  1646  he  returned  to  Scituate,  and  became,  Dec.  1, 
1646,  one  of  the  Conihasset  Partners.  At  that  time  he  resided 
on  the  South  East  of  Coleman's  hills,  in  a  house  which  he  sold  to 
Thomas  Kobinson  before  1650.  After  this,  he  resided,  during 
life,  on  his  farm  near  the  little  Musquashcut  pond  in  Scituate. 

In  1652  he  was  appointed  captain  of  the  militia  company  in 
Scituate  ;  in  1649-'50-'51-'52-'53-'54-'55  and  '56,  a  representative  to 
the  Court ;  June  3,  1656,  he  was  chosen  an  assistant  of  the 
Governor,  and  re-elected  in  1657  and  1658.  In  1653  he  was 
chosen  one  of  the  council  of  war;  March  2,  1657-8  he  was  dis- 
charged, with  his  own  consent,  from  his  office  as  Captain  of  the 
militia  company,  and  in  1659,  for  the  same  reason,  he  was  not 
approved  of  by  the  Court  as  a  deputy  from  Scituate,  to  which 
office  he  had  been  elected  by  the  people.  June  6,  1660,  he  was 
required  to  give  bonds,  with  sufficient  surities,  for  £500  for  his 
appearance  at  the  next  October  Court,  and  so  from  one  General 
Court  to  another,  till  the  next  June,  "in  reference  unto  a  seditious 
letter  sent  for  England,  the  coppy  whereof  is  come  over  in  print." 
This  letter  was  dated  at  Scituate  in  1658,  and  was  addressed  by 
him  to  Mr.  John  Brown,  then  in  England.  It  has  been  justly 
admired  for  its  liberal  and  Catholic  sentiments,  clearly  and  boldly 
expressed. 

}  In  1624  a  man  was  sent  over  to  establish  salt  works  in  Plymouth.  Gov.  Bradford  says 
he  was  ignorant  of  the  business,  yain  and  self-willed.  The  facts  indicate  that  the  GoTcrnor 
was  severe  in  his  judgement.  It  was  evident  that,  in  the  variable  climate  of  New  Englaud, 
that  salt  could  not  be  manufactured  by  solar  evaporation,  in  the  mode  common  in  the  south 
of  Spain,  and  in  the  West  India  Islands.  On  the  other  hand,  the  smaU  proportion  of  salt 
contained  in  sea  water  would  render  the  English  process,  by  boiling  in  pans,  be  too  tedious 
and  too  expensive.  His  plan  seems  to  have  been  to  reduce  the  sea  water  by 
solar  evaporation  in  ponds  and  finis4i  the  process  by  boiling  in  pan's.  In 
selecting  the  sites  for  his  ponds  he  was  unfortunate,  whether,  as  Governor  Brad- 
ford says,  from  a  lack  of  good  judgment,  or  for  other  reasons,  does  not  appear.  The 
ponds  did  not  prove  to  be  tight,  and  to  correct  the  fault  of  the  bottom  and  make  it  more 
retentive,  he  covered  it  with  a  coating  of  clay.  Similar  ponds  are  constructed  by  the  salt 
makers  at  the  present  day,  and  errors  in  the  selection  of  sites  are  not  always  to  be  avoided 
by  men  of  good  judgement.  Before  this  man  (his  name  is  not  given)  had  a  fair  opportunity 
to  test  the  value  of  his  works,  his  buildings  and  most  of  his  pans  there,  were  unfortunately 
.  destroyed  by  flre.  The  little  information  preserved  respecting  the  salt  work  in  Barnstable, 
shows  that  the  method  was  similar  to  that  adopted  by  the  Plymouth  manufacturer.  A  pond 
was  dug  on  the  high  meadow,  and  a  dyke  thrown  up  around  it  to  retain  the  water,  and 
prevent  the  ingress  of  more  than  was  wanted.  When  the  water  was  reduced  to  a  weak 
brine  by  solar  evaporation,  it  was  conveyed  to  pans  and  the  process  completed  by  boiling 
There  was  a  similar  establishment  at  Pine  Hill,  Sandwich. 


GENEALOGICAL   NOTES   OF   BARNSTABLE    FAMILIES.        255 

For  the  expressions  in  another  letter,  addressed  by  him  to  the 
Governor  and  assistants,  he  was  sentenced  at  the  same  court  to  be 
disfranchised. 

At  the  Court  held  Oct.  2,  1660,  the  printed  letter  of  Mr. 
Cudworth  was  read,  and  Mr.  John  Brown,  who  was  present,  testi- 
fied that  he  did  receive  a  letter  subscribed  by  James  Cudworth, 
of  Scituate,  and  that,  according  to  his  best  recollection,  it  was 
substantially  the  same  as  the  one  then  read.  The  bonds  for  £500, 
of  Mr.  Cudworth,  were  cancelled,  and  the  Court  ordered  that  a 
civil  action  should  be  commenced  against  him  at  the  next  follow- 
ing March  term  of  the  Court.  When  the  day  came,  no  action  was 
brought.  The  absurdity  of  men  sitting  as  judges,  in  a  case  where 
they  themselves  were  the  plaintiffs,  was  too  glaring,  and  they 
wisely  determined  to  drop  the  action. 

The  firmness  displayed  by  Gen.  Cudworth,  in  these  trying 
times,  will  ever  be  a  monument  to  his  memory,  more  endearing 
than  brass  or  granite.  Rather, than  violate  his  convictions  of 
right  and  of  duty,  he  submitted  to  disfranchisement,  ejection  from 
office,  and  to  be  placed  under  a  bond  for  a  larger  sum  than  the 
whole  colony  could  have'paid  in  coin.  He  did  not  come  over  in 
the  Mayflower  ;  but  he  had  adopted  as  his  own,  the  principles  of 
those  who  did,  and  no  earthly  power  could  make  him  swerve  from 
them.  Some  speak  lightly  of  those  principles ;  but  it  is  igno- 
rance of  their  character  which  makes  them  do  so. 

The  Pilgrims  came  over  with  their  bibles  in  their  hands,  and 
in  their  hearts  ;  that  holy  book  was  the  only  creed,  to  which  mem- 
bers of  their  church  were  required  to  give  their  assent.  They 
held  that  Christ  was  the  only  bishop  to  whom  they  owned  allegi- 
ance, and  that  the  gorgeous  vestments  of  the  priests  of  the 
Catholic  and  English  churches,  and  the  ceremonial  observances 
required,  were  anti-Christian,  and  not  in  conformity  with  the 
usages  of  the  Apostolic  age.  They  came  here  that  they  might 
have  liberty  to  worship  God  according  to  the  dictates  of  their  own 
consciences,  to  establish  a  pure  and  simple  form  of  worship  for 
themselves  and  their  posterity.  They  held  that  the  conscience 
was  free,  that  man  was  not  responsible  to  his  fellow  man  for  his 
faith,  but  to  God  alone. 

These  principles  lie  at  the  bottom  of  all  that  is  tolerant  in 
religion,  liberal  in  politics,  or  worth  contending  for.  The  Pil- 
grims took  another  step  in  advance  of  the  prevalent  opinions  of 
their  time.  When  about  to  embark  from  Leyden,  their  reverend 
pastor,  in  his  farewell  address,  says :  "I  charge  you  before  God 
and  his  blessed  angels,  that  you  follow  me  no  further  than  you 
have  seen  me  follow  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ.  The  Lord  has  more 
truth  yet  to  break  forth  out  of  his  holy  word.  I  cannot  suffi- 
ciently bewail  the  condition  of  the  reformed  churches,  who  are 
come  to  a  period  in  religion,  and  will  go  at  present  no  further  than 
the  instruments  of  their  reformation,     Luther  and  Calvin  were 


256        GENEALOGICAL    NOTES    OF    BARNSTABLE    FAMILrES. 

great  and  shining  lights  in  their  times,  yet  they  penetrated  not 
into  the  whole  counsel  of  God.  I  beseech  you,  remember  it,  'tis 
an  article  of  your  church  covenant,  that  you  be  ready  to  receive 
whatever  truth  shall  be  made  known  to  vou  from  the  written  word 
of  God." 

This  was  not  spoken  for  rhetorical  effect,  it  was  a  sober  truth, 
a  solemn  injunction,  not  to  forget,  or  transgress  a  prime  article  in 
their  church  covenant.  The  covenant  of  the  Puritan  Church 
established  in  London  in  1616,  of  which  Mr.  Lothrop  was  after- 
wards pastor,  was  the  same  in  form.  The  members  of  that 
church,  with  joined  hands,  "solemnly  covenanted  with  each  other, 
in  the  presence  of  Almighty  God,  to  walk  together  in  all  Gods 
ways  and  ordinances,  according  as  he  had  always  revealed,  or 
should  further  make  known  to  them."  This  covenant  Mr.  Lothrop 
brought  over  with  him,  and  on  the  8th  day  of  Jan.  1634,  O.  S. 
(Jan.  18,  1635,  N.  S.)  at  Scituate,  after  spending  the  day  in 
fastmg,  humiliation  and  prayer,  at  evening,  there  was  re-union  of 
those  who  had  been  in  covenant  before.  Mr.  Cudworth  united 
with  the  church  ten  days  after,  and  from  the  expression  used  in 
the  record,  I  infer  that  he  had  not  been  a  member  of  Mr.  Loth- 
rop's  church  in  London. 

Till  1657,  the  Plymouth  Colony  had  maintained  the  principles 
of  its  founders  ;  but  during  the  preceding  twenty-six  years,  causes 
had  been  in  operation  which  had  gradually  disturbed  the  harmony 
of  sentiment  which  had  at  lirst  prevailed.  Rhode  Island,  influ- 
enced by  the  liberal  and  intelligent  counsels  of  Roger  Williams, 
had  become  the  impregnable  citadel  of  toleration  in  New  England. 
Massachusetts  and  Connecticut  were  founded  by  men  who  brought 
over  with  them  the  same  spirit  of  intolerance,  which  then  pre- 
vailed in  the  mother  country.  They  enacted  severe  laws  against 
the  Anna  baptists,  and  more  severe  against  the  quakers. 
Through  the  commissioners  of  the  United  Colonies,  they  urged 
the  magistrates  of  Plymouth  to  pass  similar  laws. 

The  "first  comers"  had,  among  their  number,  a  large  propor- 
tion of  educated  men.  There  were  very  few  who  had  not  received 
the  elements  of  a  good  education.  They  were  men  of  large 
experience,  intelligent,  tolerant  in  religion,  and  liberal  in  their 
politics.  These  men  were  the  advocates  of  a  learned  ministry, 
and  desirous  of  establishing  schools  and  seminaries  of  learning. 
In  1657,  many  of  these  men  bad  passed  away.  Brewster  and 
Lothrop,  the  calm  yet  firm  advocates  of  toleration  and  liberty, 
were  dead.  A  new  race  had  succeeded — men  who  had  enjoyed 
few  educational  advantages,  and  who,  in  their  ignorance  of  better 
things,  had  imbibed  intolerant,  and  illiberal  principles. 

During  this  period  many  new  men  had  been  introduced  into 
the  colony,  some  from  Massachusetts,  but  mostly  from  the  eastern 
country.     Among  these  were  many  who  had  no  sympathy  for  the 


GENEALOGICAL    NOTES    OF    BARNSTABLE    FAMILIES.        257 

institutions  established  by  the  Puritans.  There  was  also  another 
class — disappointed  politicians — like  George  Barlow  of  Sandwich, 
of  which  I  have  had  occasion  to  speak  in  no  complimentary 
terms. 

The  effect  on  the  churches  was  disastrous.  The  Barnstable 
Church  was  rent  in  twain,  and  the  difficulties  did  not  end  till  the 
settlement  of  Mr.  Walley  in  1662.  There  were  divisions  in  the 
old  Plymouth  Church,  in  fact  in  almost  every  church  in  the 
colony. 

A  large  majority  of  those  known  as  first  comers,  then  sur- 
viving, sympathized  with  Mr.  Cudworth.  Seituate  was  very 
nearly  unanimous  in  his  support,  so  were  a  large  majoi-ity  in  Sand- 
wich and  in  Barnstable.  Of  the  state  of  feeling  in  other  towns 
at  that  period,  I  have  no  means  of  correctly  ascertaining. 

Such  was  the  state  of  public  feeling  in  the  colony  in  the  sum- 
mer of  1657  ;  yet  such  was  the  reverence  of  the  people  for  the 
institutions  first  established,  that  the  magistrates  and  representa- 
tives hesitated  in  passing  the  laws  recommended  by  the  commis- 
sioners. They  simply  ordained,  says  Mr.  Cudworth,  that  the 
word  "and"  in  an  old  law,  should  be  changed  to  "or."  This 
apparently  small  and  unimportant  alteration  changed,  as  will  be 
seen,  a  salutary  or  harmless  law,  into  an  instrument  of  tyranny. 

This  change  would  have  been  inoperative  if  there  had  not 
been  men  in  the  colony  in  whom  the  spirit  of  persecution  only 
slumberedj  who  were  ready  to  catch  at  every  straw  and  urge  the 
people  on  to  acts  of  madness.  Of  this  class  was  George  Barlow 
of  Sandwich,  and  as  he  was  the  type  of  the  class,  some  account 
of  him  will  not  be  out  of  place,  in  order  to  show  what  kind  of 
men  Cudworth,  Hatherly  and  Robinson,  had  to  contend  with. 

The  four  years  from  1657  to  1661,  have  been  called  the  dark 
ages  of  the  colony.  It  is  unpleasant  to  recount  the  events  of 
those  years — to  be  forced  to  admit  that  such  excellent  men  as 
Thomas  Hinckley,  Josiah  Winslow,  Thomas  Prence,  John  Alden, 
and  others,  adjured,  for  the  time  being,  the  liberal  principles  of 
civil  polity  which  the  fathers  professed,  and  were  led  astray  by  a 
senseless  clamour  from  without,  and  by  factious  and  ambitious 
men  within.  That  they  unwillingly  consented  to  enact  laws 
restraining  political  and  religious  freedom  is  evident,  from  the 
statements  in  the  letter  of  Mr.  Cudworth  to  Mr.  Brown  ;  and  that 
they  lived  to  regret  their  hasty  and  inconsiderate  action,  is  verified 
by  their  subsequent  acts  ;  but  that  unwillingness,  and  that  regret 
does  not  blot  from  the  memory,  or  from  the  statute  book,  the 
unjust  laws  which  they  sanctioned  and  enforced.  The  precedents 
established  in  Massachusetts  and  Connecticut  are  no  excuse,  they 
and  their  associates  were  the  rulers  of  a  free  and  independent 


258        GENEALOGICAL    NOTES    OF    BAKNSTABLE    FAMILIES. 

colony  and  were  amenable  at  the  bar  of  public  opinion  for  their 
acts.* 

The  Puritans  have  suffered  more  from  over  zealous  friends, 
than  from  open  and  avowed  enemies.  A  community  is  an  aggre- 
gation of  individuals — one  rule  of  act  applies  to  both,  and  he 
that  attempts  to  conceal  or  paliate  wrong,  does  an  injury  to  him 
whom  he  thus  essays  to  defend.  The  Plymouth  Colony  existed 
seventy-one  years.  During  sixty-seven,  with  the  exception  of  a 
short  period  during  the  usurpation  of  Andros,  the  people  enjoyed 
a  mild,  a  liberal,  and  a  paternal  government.  Shall  we  cease  to 
honor  the  institutions  they  established  because,  during  four 
years,  a  bigoted  majority  were  false  to  the  principles  of  the 
fathers  ? 

George  Barlow  was  the  type  of  a  class  who,  in  1657,  inaug- 
urated a  system  of  terrorism  in  the  Old  Colony,  and  it  may  be 
truthfully  said  that  he  made  more  converts  to  the  doctrines  of  the 
Quakers  than  all  their  preachers.  The  spirit  of  persecution  which 
he  was  largely  instrumental  in  introducing,  raised  up  opponents 
who  at  first  sympathized  with  the  sufferers  then  with  their  doc- 
trines which  they  at  last  embraced.  In  the  towns  where  the 
Quaker  preachers  were  not  opposed  and  persecuted,  they  made 
no  proselytes,  but  where  they  were  persecuted,  there  they  made 
many  converts. 

In  a  former  article  I  have  spoken  of  George  Barlow,  not  In 
terms  of  commendation.  The  Puritans  and  Quakers,  though 
opposed  to  each  other,  agreed  in  this,  that  George  Barlow  was  a 
bad  man.  No  one  speaks  well  of  him.  Of  his  early  history  I 
know  nothing.  He  was  of  Boston  or  vicinity  in  1637,  perhaps 
earlier.  In  the  records  of  the  Quarter  Court  held  at  Boston  and 
Newtown  19th  Sept.  1637,  is  the  following  entry:  "George 
Barlow,  for  idleness,  is  censured  to  be  whipped."  From  Boston 
he  went  to  the  eastern  country,  and  was  at  Exeter  in  1639,  and 
at  Saco  in  1652.  .  At  these  places  and  elsewhere,  says  Mr. 
Savage,  he  exercised  his  gifts  as  a  pi-eacher.  On  the  5th  of  July, 
1653,  at  a  court  held  at  Wells,  by  Richard  Bellingham  and  others, 
commissioners  of  the  Massachusetts  Colony,  George  Badow  and 
fifteen  others,  inhabitants  of  Saco,  acknowledged  themselves  to  be 
subject  to  the  government  of  that  Colony,  and  took  the  freemans' 


*  He  that  supposes  that  Gov.  Hinckley,  and  those  who  acted  with  him,  had  neither  law 
nor  reason  on  their  side,  is  mistaken.  They  had  both.  The  lands  in  the  several  towns 
were  granted  on  the  express  condition  that  an  Orthodox  church  should  he  gathered,  of  at 
least  forty  families,  and  that  a  learned  minister  should  be  supported  out  of  the  products  ol 
those  lands.  These  were  legal  conditions,  and  the  grantees  were  bound  by  them.  Gov. 
Hinckley  was  the  best  read  lawyer  in  the  Colony,  and  he  examined  the  question  only  in  its 
legal  aspect.  On  that  ground  he  was  right.  Whether  his  course  was  judicious  is  another 
and  entirely  different  question.  The  Puritans  were  equally  severe  against  men  who 
attempted  to  disregard  the  conditions  on  which  the  lauds  were  gi-anted.  Rev.  Joseph  Hull, 
whose  learning  and  Orthodoxy,  for  making  such  an  attempt,  was  excommunicated  and 
forbidden  to  preach.  Mr.  Cudworth  considered  the  rights  of  conscience  as  paramount  to 
the  legal  obligation.  Gov.  Hinckley  thought  otherwise,  and  that  was  the  point  at  issue 
between  them. 


GENEALOGICAL   NOTES    OF   BARNSTABLE    FAMILIES.        250 

oath  in  open  court.  In  the  record  of  the  proceedings  of  the 
same  court  the  following  passage  occurs  : 

"vSeveral  of  the  inhabitants  complained,  that  George  Barlow 
is  a  disturbance  to  the  place,  the  commissioners  thought  meet  to 
forbid  the  said  George  Barlow  any  more  publickly  to  preach  or 
prophesy,  under  the  penalty  of  ten  pounds  for  every  offence." 

Soon  after  the  last  date  he  removed  to  Newbury.  Of  his 
character  while  an  inhabitant  of  that  town,  Mr.  Thomas  Clark 
affirmed  in  open  court,  at  Plymouth,  on  the  13th  of  June  1660, 
"that  he  is  such  an  one  that  he  is  a  shame  and  reproach  to  all  his 
masters ;  and  that  he,  the  said  Barlow,  stands  convicted  and 
recorded  of  a  lye  att  Newbury." 

In  1657  he  was  of  Sandwich,  and  June  1,  1658,  he  was 
appointed  by  the  Plymouth  Colony  Court,  marshal  of  Sandwich, 
Barnstable  and  Yarmouth,  with  "full  power  to  act  as  constable  in 
all  things  in  the  town  of  Sandwich."  Oct.  2,  he-  was  commis- 
sioned to  apprehend  Quakers  coming  to  Manomett,  or  places 
adjacent,  in  boats.  June  7,  1659,  he  was  allowed  to  be  a  tows- 
man  of  Sandwich,  and  June  5,  1661,  his  authority,  as  marshal, 
was  extended  to  all  places  in  the  Colony. 

March  5,  1660-1.  The  court  ordered  George  Bai-low  "to 
pay  a  fine  of  twenty  shillings  to  Benjamin  Allen,  for  causing  him 
to  sit  in  the  stocks  at  Sandwich  the  greater  part  of  a  night, 
without  cause,  and  for  other  wrongs  done  by  him  unto  the  said 
Allen."  Barlow  was  also  ordered  to  return  unto  Ralph  Allen  a 
shirt  and  some  other  small  linen,  which  he  took  from  him,  in  the 
pursuit  of  Wenlock." 

March  4,  1661-2.  "George  Barlow  and  his  wife  were  both 
severely  reproved  for  their  most  ungodly  living  in  contention,  one 
with  the  other,  and  admimished  to  live  otherwise."  (See  Colony 
Records,  Vol.  4,  pages  7  and  10.)  In  May,  1665,  he  was  put 
under  bonds  for  his  good  behavior,  and  in  the  following  March  he 
was  fined  10  shillings  for  being  drunk  a  second  time. 

The  foregoing  extracts  are  from  the  records  of  the  friends  of 
Barlow,  and  it  is  safe  to  infer  that  they  did  not  admit  that  which 
was  not  true.  This  evidence  establishes  the  following  points : 
That  he  was  an  idle  fellow,  a  disturber  of  the  public  peace ;  that 
he  was  a  shame  and  reproach  to  all  his  masters  ;  that  he  was  not 
truthful ;  that  he  was  tyrannical,  that  he  was  quarrelsome,  and 
that  he  was  a  drunkard.  In  addition  to  the  testimony  of  Gov. 
Thomas  Prence  may  be  added,  it  is  reported  that  he  made  this 
remark  respecting  Barlow,  '  'That  an  honest  man  would  not  have, 
or  hardly  would  take  his  place."     (Bishop,  page  388.) 

The  following  testimony  is  extracted  from  the  writings  of  the 
Quakers.  I  quote  from  Bishop's  New  England  Judged,  (London 
Edition)  because  he  is  more  accurate  in  his  statement  of  facts 
than  many  of  the  early  writers  among  the  friends.     In  the  fea- 


260        GENEALOGICAL    NOTES    OF    BARNSTABLE    FAMILIES. 

tures  of  these  men  the   poet  Whittier  says  you  could  read  : 
"My  life  is  hunted — evil  men 
Are  following  in  my  track  ; 
The  traces  of  the  torturer's  whip 
Are  on  my  aged  back." 

Naturally,  however  meek  a  man  maybe,  it  is  hardly  to  be 
expected  that  a  man  having  the  traces  of  the  whip  on  his  own 
person,  can  describe  so  calmly  as  one  who  had  not  suffered. 
Bishop,  Vol.  1,  page  389,  says  :"  "As  for  this  Barlow,  his  natural 
inclination  is  to  be  lazy,  filthy  and  base  to  all.  In  his  former 
years,  he  was  one  of  the  Protectors  Preachers  at  Exeter,  in  New 
England  and  elsewhere ;  of  which  being  weary,  or  having  worn 
that  trade  out,  or  it  having  worn  out  him,  he  turned  lawyer  and 
so  came  into  Plymouth  Patent,  where  he  became  a  notorious 
spoiler  of  the  goods  of  the  innocent  by  being  a  marshal." 

•June  23,  1658,  Marshal  Barlow  arrested  Christopher  Holder 
and  John  Copeland,*  two  Quaker  preachers,  while  on  their  way' to 
a  meeting  in  Sandwich.  They  had  been  banished  from  the 
Colony  on  the  2d  of  the  preceding  February,  and  had  been  whipt 
at  Plymouth  on  the  8th  of  that  month  for  not  complying  with  the 
order  of  the  Courts.  Barlow  carried  them  before  the  selectmen 
of  Sandwich,  who  had  been  appointed  by  the  Court,  in  the 
absence  of  a  magistrate,  to  witness  the  execution  of  the  law. 
They  "entertaining  no  desire  to  sanction  measures  so  severe 
towards  those  who  differed  from  them  in  religion,  declined  to  act 
in  the  case."  Barlow,  disappointed  at  the  refusal,  took  the 
prisoners  to  his  house,  where  he  kept  them  six  days,  and  then  on 
29th  of  June,  carried  them  before  Mr.  Thomas  Hincliley  of 
Barnstable,  who  had  that  month  been  elected  one  of  the  magis- 
trates and  an  assistant  of  Gov.  Prence.  Bishop,  page  184,  thus 
describes  the  scene  at  the  execution  :  "They,  (Christopher  Holden 
'  and  John  Copeland)  being  tied  to  an  old  post,  had  thirty-three 
cruel  stripes  laid  upon  them  with  a  new  tormenting  whip,  with 
three  cords,  and  knots  at  the  ends,  made  by  the  Marshal,  and 
brought  witli  him.  At  the  sight  of  which  cruel  and  bloody  execu- 
tion, one  of  the  spectators  (for  there  were  many  who  witnessed 
against  it)  cried  out  in  the  grief  and  anguish  of  her  spirit,  saying  : 
"How  long,  Lord,  shall  it  be  ere  thou  avenge  the  blood  of  thine 
elect?"  And  afterwards  bewailing  herself,  and  lamenting  her 
loss,  said  :  "Did  I  forsake  father  and  mother,  and  all  my  dear 

*  Before  1654 ^Christopher  Holder  resided  at  Winterhounie,  in  Gloucestershire,  Eng- 
land. He  is  represented  to  be  a  well  educated  man  and  of  good  estate.  He  came  to  New 
England  in  1656  and  again  in  1657,  and  spent  the  winter  of  that  year  in  the  West  Indies.  He 
returned  to  England  in  1660  and  there  married  Mary,  daughter  of  Richard  and  Katherine 
Scott,  of  Providence,  K.  I.  He  repeatedly  visited  America  and  other  countries,  and  suf- 
fered much  in  his  native  country  and  in  foreign  Lands.  He  died  July  13, 1688,  aged  about 
60.  John  Copeland  was  fi-om  Yorkshire  and  had  also  been  well  educated.  He  came  to 
America  in  1657.  In  1661  he  was  in  London,  and  in  1687  he  was  in  Virginia.  He  married 
thrice,  and  died  at  North  Cave,  County  of  York,  March  9, 1718,  veiy  aged.  Among  the 
first  settlers  it  is  probable  they  found  many  whom  they  had  known  in  England 


GENEALOGICAL    NOTES    OF    BARNSTABLE    FAMILIES.        261 

relations,  to  come  to  New  England  for  this?  Did  I  ever  think 
New  England  would  come  to  this?  Who  could  have  thought  it?" 
And  this  Thomas  Hinckley  saw  done,  to  whom  the  Marshal 
repaired  for  that  purpose. f 

"The  Friends  of  Sandwich,  aware  of  the  hatred  which  the 
Barnstable  magistrate  had  to  Quakerism,  with  a  view  to  cheer  their 
brethren  in  bonds,  accompanied  them  thither.  These  were  new 
proceedings  at  Barnstable,  and  caused  no  little  sensation  among 
the  quiet  settlers  of  tlie  district.  They  felt  that  however 
erroneous  Quakerism  might  be,  such  conduct  on  the  part  of  their 
rulers  did  not  consist  with  the  religion  of  Jesus."     (Bowden.) 

Bishop  (pages  188  and  189)  says  that  when  Barlow  went,  in 
1659,  to  arrest  Edward  Perry,  "he  was  so  drunk  that  he  could 
hardly  forbear  vomiting  in  the  bosom  of  him  whom  he  pretended 
to  press"  as  his  aid.  A  friend  of  Perry  who  was  present  said  to 
him,  "Yea,  George,  thou  mayst  wash  thy  hands,  but  thou  canst 
not  wash  thy  heart."  He  answered,  still  laughing  and  jeering, 
and  said,  "Yes,  one  dram  of  the  bottle  will  do  it,"  and  clapped 
his  hand  on  his  bosom.  Unto  which  kind  of  washing,  it  seems, 
he  is  used  to  much,  viz  :  To  be  drunk,  and  then  to  be  ftiad,  and  to 
beat  his  wife  and  children  like  a  mad  man  ;  and  to  throw  the 
things  of  the  house  from  one  place  to  another." 

Many  passages  from  the  early  writers  to  the  same  effect 
might  be  quoted.  That  he  was  honest  there  is  much  reason  to 
doubt.  Thomas  P^wer  charged  him  in  open  court  with  having  on 
a  garment  made  from  cloth  stolen  from  him.  Barlow  also 
encouraged  and  justified  his  children  in  stripping  the  fruits  from 
the  orchard  of  his  neighbor  Thomas  Johnson.  An  Indian  took  a 
knife  from  an  Englishman's  house,  and  being  told  he  should  not 
steal,  he  answered,  "I  thought  so,  but  Barlow  steals  from  the 
Quakers,  and  why  may  not  I  do  the  same  ?" 

■  It  has  already  been  stated  that  a  majority  of  the  Plymouth 
Colony  Court  had  pronounced  the  letter  of  Mr.  Cudworth  to  Mr. 
Brown  to  be  seditious.  The  foregoing  extracts  clearly  establish 
one  point,  and  that  is,  his  denunciations  of  Barlow  are  not 
seditious,  without  it  can  be  proved  that  telling  the  truth  is  sedition. 
The  other  statements  in  his  letter  will  also  be  verified  by  extracts 
from  the  records  and  contemporaneous  authorities. 

George  Barlow  does  not  appear  to  have  had  a  family  when  he 

t  Mr.  John  Wliitney  in  Truth  and  Innocency  defended.  London  edition,  1702,  pa^e  26, 
describes  the  scene  at  Barn'itable  sub'^tflntially  as  above;  but  his  lan^uaee  is  wanting  in 
cleamiess.  Bowden  does  not  refer  to  Wliitney ;  "but  lie  was  probably  misled  by  the  ambigu- 
ous language  of  that  author.  He  represents  that  the  residence  of  the  magistrate  was 
"about  two  miles  distant."  It  should  be  twelve  miles.  This  is  probably  a  mistake  of  the 
printer.  He  adds,  (page  116,  London  edition.)  "This  functionary,  after  a  frivolous  exam- 
ination of  tjie  prisoners,  ordered  them  to  be  tied  to  the  post  of  an  out-house ;  and  then, 
tuniing  executioner,  he  gave  each  of  them  thiritj'-three  lashes."  I  should  not  notice  this 
gross  scandal  if  it  had  not  been  copied  by  other  historians  without  comment.  (See  annals 
of  Sandwich,  pages  60  and  61.)  No  trustworthy  authority  can  be  quoted  in  its  support — its 
falsity  is  apparent.  Bowden  is  usually  very  cautious  in  his  statements.  He  refers  to 
Norton's  Ensign  as  his  authority;  but  he  evidently  relied  on  and  was  misled  by  the  ambigu- 
ous lan^age  of  Whifciojf. 


t62        GENEALOGICAL    NOTES    OF    BARNSTABLE    FAMILIKS. 

came  to  Sandwich.  He  married  Jane,  widow  of  the  lamented 
Anthony  Besse.  She  had  then  a  sou  Nehemiah,  ancestor  of  the 
Besses  of  Sandwich,  Wareham,  and  other  towns,  and  three 
daughters.  By  her  second  husband  she  had  a  son  John,  ancestor 
of  some  of  the  Barlows  in  Sandwich,  &c. 

Details  of  his  brutality  as  the  master  of  a  family,  have 
already  been  given.  Froni  Mr.  Besse's  once  "sweet  home," 
peace,  comfort,  and  happiness,  were  banished.  Morning  and 
evening  prayer  and  praise  had  ascended  from  the  family  altar, 
now  desecrated  by  impiety  and  drunken  revelries.  The  little  ones 
who  had  been  brought  up  to  be  liiud  and  affectionate,  one  towards 
the  other,  were  now  rude  and  disobedient,  and  taught  that  it  was 
no  sin  to  steal  from  those  who  were  not  members  of  their 
church. 

Barlow  made  high  pretension  to  piety,  and  became  a  member 
of  the  Sandwich  church.  He  also  claimed  to  have  studied  the 
law,  and  essayed  to  be  a  lawyer.  By  his  pretended  piety,  and«by 
his  plausible  address,  he  at  first  deceived  the  unsuspecting  Puri- 
tans, and  *hey  appointed  him  to  a  responsible  office.  This  they 
did  ignorantly,  and  no  blame  can  attach  to  the  court ;  but  he  was 
continued  in  office,  and  his  authority  enlarged,  after  his  true 
character  was  known.  For  this,  it  is  difficult  to  frame  a  sufficient 
excuse. 

The  worst  of  men  usually  have  some  redeeming  traits  of 
Character.  Contemporaneous  authorities  say  nothing  in  his  favor. 
He  was  hated  by  every  member  of  his  family,  wife,  sons,  daugh- 
ter, and  daughters-in-law  ;  despised  and  avoided  by  his  neighbors 
— a  blot  on  the  annals  of  the  Old  Colony  which  time  will  never 
wipe  out. 

Barlow,  in  the  latter  part  of  his  life,  was  never  sober  of  his 
own  free  choice — as  an  officer  he  was  unfeeling  and  tyrannical, 
and  seemed  to  take  pleasure  in  wringing  the  last  penny  from  the 
hard  hand  of  industry — in  dragging  men  and  women  to  the  prison 
and  the  whipping  post.  His  career  was  short.  An  outraged 
people  hurled  him  from  otHee,  and  in  his  old  age  he  craved  charity 
from  those  for  whom  he  had  shown  no  piety  in  the  day  of  his 
power. 

The  early  writers  furnish  many  details  of  his  cruel  acts.  1 
shall  relate  one,  and  prefer  giving  it  as  it  has  been  preserved  by 
tradition.  J 

t  Among  the  fli-st  settlers  in  Sandwich  was  George  Allen,  a  man  of  good  standing 
a.mong  the  Puritans,  notivithstanding  he  was  an  Ana  baptist.  The  lioase  which  he  built  at 
Spring  Hill  in  1646,  is  now  owned  by  Mrs.  Eliza  C.  Wing,  is  in  good  repair,  and  will  proba- 
bly last  another  century.  He  died  in  16i3,  leaving  nine  children  mentioned  in  his  will,  four 
of  whom  are  named,  Matthew,  Henry,  Samuel  and  William,  the  other  five  least  children 
not  named.  Brown  says  that  six  brothers  and  sisters  of  this  family  were  among  the  earUest 
who  embraced  the  principles  of  the  Fi-iends.  He  says  that  Halph  Allen  was  his  son,  and 
George,  Jr.,  was  probably  another.  The  two  last  named  must  have  been  men  grown  when 
they  came  to  this  country,  for  George  had  taken  the  oath  of  fidelity  in  England.  The 
Aliens  settled  at  Spring  Hill,  and  two  or  more  of  their  houses  yet  remain,  and  are  probably 
as  old  as  any  in  Massachusetts.  The  one  in  which  the  early  quakers  met  for  many  succes- 
sive years,  is  still  standing,  and  remained  in  the  family  till  1862,  when  it  was  sold  to  Frank 
Korns,  the  present  owner. 


GICNEALOGICAL    NOTES    OF    BARNSTABLE    FAMILIES.         263 

The  traveller  from  Sandwich  to  Barnstable  has,  perhaps, 
noticed  the  ancient  and  substantial  dwelling  houses  near  Spring 
Hill.  Some  of  these  have  stood  two  centuries,  and  were  the 
residences  of  the  early  Quakers.  In  1659  William  Allen  was  the 
occupant  of  one  of  them.  He  was  a  young  man,  married,  March 
21,  1649-50,  Priscilla  Brown.  His  flues  amounted  to  £86,17,  and 
were  imposed  for  the  following  offences  :  £40  for  twenty  meetings 
at  his  house  ;  £4  for  attending  meetings  at  other  places  ;  £5  for 
entertaining  Quakers ;  £25  for  refusing  to  take  the  oath  of 
fidelity  ;  £1  for  not  removing  his  hat  in  court,  and  the  balance  for 
expenses,  &c. 

In  payment  for  these  fines  there  was  taken  from  him  at 
different  times : 

18  head  of  cattle,  apprised  at  £64,10 

1  mare  and  a  horse   of    which  he  was  half    owner ;    but 

according  to  the  Treasurer's  accounts  mare  and  2  colts,       19,10 
8  bushels  of  corn  and  a  hogshead,  1,07 

Corn  at  another  time,  1,10 


£86,17 
In  addition,  a  brass  kettle  was  taken  in  payment  of  a  fine  of 
£1,  imposed  in  1660  for  wearing  his  hat  in  court.  These  dis- 
traints were  made  by  Barlow  at  different  times,  and  some  parti- 
culars may  be  found  in  Bishop.  In  the  winter  of  1660-61  William 
Allen  was  in  Sandwich.  In  June,  1661,  he  and  27  others  were 
released  from  prison  in  Boston,  tlie  authorities  having  received 
intelligence  that  King  Charles  would,  order  all  Quakers  imprisoned 
to  be  sent  over  to  England  for  trial.  The  mandamus  or  letter  of 
the  King  was  received  in  November,  1661,  and  in  the  Plymouth 
Colony  persecutions  and  the  exacting  of  fines  ceased ;  but  in 
Massachusetts  the  magistrates  found  means  to  evade  the  royal 
authority,  and  persecutions  did  not  entirely  cease  for  several 
years.    ' 

Sandwich  suffered  more  than  all  the  other  towns  in  the  Ply- 
mouth Colony — in  fact,  only  a  few  and  unimportant  cases  occurred 
out  of  that  town.  Many  of  those  who  were  imprisoned  in  Bos- 
ton were  Sandwich  men  who  went  there  on  business.  Though  two 
centuries  have  passed,  it  is  not  surprising  that  many  particulars 
respecting  the  persecutions  in  Sandwich  have  been  preserved. 

Accounts  of  the  sufferings  endured  by  the  Quakers  in  Boston, 
Sandwich,  and  other  places,  immediately  after  the  events  occured, 
were  published  in  London,  and  were  read  by  all  classes.  Such 
events  are  not  soon  forgotten,  and  it  takes  many  generations  to 
eradicate  the  memory  thereof  from  the  minds  of  the  descendants 
of  the  sufferers.  In  Sandwich  the  principle  facts  have  been 
preserved  by  tradition,  even  the  localities  where  the  events 
occurred  are  pointed  out.  The  preservation  of  so  many  of  the 
houses  of  the  first  Quakers,  the  ownership  whereof  for  successive 


264        GENEALOGICAL    NOTES    OF    BAKNSTAI5LE    FAMILIES. 

generations,  can  be  ascertained  bv  deeds,  wills,  and  other  legal 
instruments,  has  aided  in  keeping  in  memory  locations  which 
would  otherwise  have  been  forgotten.  The  following  incidents, 
said  to  have  occurred  when  Barlow  made  his  last  distraint  on  the 
goods  of  William  Allen,  are  yet  related,  and  the  exact  location 
where  they  occurred  pointed  out.  This  story  of  wrong  is  in  some 
particulars  differently  related  by  different  persons  ;  but  the  leading 
facts  are  confirmed  by  the  records. 

On  the  south  side  of  Spring  Hill,  in  Sandwich,  in  one  of 
those  cosey  nooks,  which  the  first  comers  selected  for  their  house 
lots,  sheltered  by  hills  from  the  bleak  north  and  west  winds,  the 
traveller  on  the  Cape  Cod  Railroad  has  perhaps  noticed  an  ancient 
dwelling  which  the  renovating  hand  of  modern  improvement  has 
allowed  to  remain  as  it  was  one  hundred  and  fifty  years  ago.  In 
1658  it  was  owned  by  William  Allen.*     He  and  his  wife  Priscilla 


*  William  Allen's  House.  Mr.NeiVPlI  Hoxie  who  has  made  the  sturly  of  the  antiquities 
of  Spring  Hill  a  speciiiliry,  is  of  the  opinion  that  William  Alien,  in  1658,  resided  in  a  house 
nearer  the  grave  yard  than  the  Alden  Allen  house.  The  history  of  the  latter  can  be  traced 
hy  records  from  the  year  1672.  It  was  then  the  residence  of  William  Allen,  and  continued 
to  be  till  his  death  in  1705,  when  he  bequeathed  it  to  Daniel,  son  of  his  brother  George, 
reserving  the  use  of  the  south  end  for  the  meetinfrs  of  the  Quakers  in  the  winter  as  had 
been  customary.  Daniel  bequeathed  it  to  his  son  Comelins,  Cornelius  to  his  son  CJeorgei 
George  to  his  son  William,  and  William  to  his  son  Aklen  who  died  Jan.  8, 1858,  aged  80. 

To  determine  the  question  of  the  age  of  this  house  I  have  spent  some  time.  Outwardly 
the  style  indicates  about  the  year  1680  as  the  date  of  its  erection;  but  on  comparing  the 
description  of  the  appearance  of  the  framing  and  interior  arrangements  furnished  me  by 
Mr.  Hoxie,  with  the  description  thereof  given  in  1705,  by  the  apprisers  of  the  estate  of 
William  Allen,  I  am  satisfied  that  it  has  been  enlarged  three,  if  not  four  times  since 
originally  built.  The  original  house  was  18  feet  by  23,  two  stories  high  In  the  life  time  of 
William  Allen  a  leanto  was  added  on  the  west  for  a  kitchen,  and  an  addition  made  on  the 
south  one  story  high,  with  a  leanto  roof,  in  the  style  popularly  known  as  a  "salt  box." 
Under  the  salt  box  there  was  a  cellar.  This  corresponds  with  the  description  of  the  build- 
ing in  1705  on  the  Probate  Kecords.  Soon  after  this  date  the  "salt  box"  was  removed  or 
enlarged,  and  an  addition  made  coiTespondiug  in  size  and  appearance  with  the  ancient  part, 
making  the  main  building  18  by  40  feet,  two  stories  high,  not  including  the  leanto  on  the 
west,  and  precisely  in  the  form  it  now  remains.  The  objection  to  this  view  is,  the  framing 
of  the  north  and  south  ends  are  precisely  alike,  the  posts  on  the  south  not  having  been 
spliced,  making  itprobable  that  both  ends  were  built  at  the  same  time,  but  if  so  the  descrip- 
tion of  the  apprisers  of  Allen's  estate  is  incorrect.  The  position  of  the  cellar  and  chimney 
indicates  that  both  ends  were  not  built  at  the  same  time,  and  the  plates  are  spliced  precisely 
at  the  place  where  the  addition  was  probably  made.  It  may  have  been  John  Newland's 
house,  which  William  Allen  bought  about  the  year  1680,  but  the  location  of  Ne^V^^fl's  house 
is  said  to  have  been  on  the  south  of  the  swamp,  the  collar  whereof  yet  remains. 

All  the  old  houses  at  Spring  Hill  have  undergone  similar  transformations  since  they 
were  built.  The  Wing  hou«e,  probably  the  oldest  house  in  Massachusetts,  built  before  1643 
as  a  fortification,  has  been  altered  so  otten  that  little  of  the  original  remains.  The  George 
Allen  built,  according  to  a  mark  thereon  in  1646,  is  in  good  preservation. 

The  conclusion  to  which  I  have  arrived  is  this,  that  it  is  not  perfectly  certain  that 
William  Allen  resided  in  the  Alden  Allen  house  in  1660.  It  is  difficult  to  prove  such  a 
question.  He  may  have  lived  in  a  hou«e  nearer  the  "grave  yard,"  as  tradition  savs. 
Portions  of  the  tradition  to  which  I  refer  are  proved  erroueou*,  namely,  that  William  Allen 
married  two  wives,  the  records  show  that  his  first  wife  Priscilla  sui-vi'ved  him;  that  having 
no  issue  he  devised  his  estate  to  Gideon  Allen,  the  record'*  show  that  he  bequeathed  it  to 
his  nephew  Daniel.  Both  houses  were  near  the  "grave  yard,"  and  nothing  is  proved  by  that 
expression,  and  if  the  tradition  is  erronous,  as  above  shown,  in  important  particulars,  it 
creates  a  doubt  at  least,  whether  or  not  it  is  accurate  in  regard  to  the  exact  location  of 
William  Allen's  house  in  the  year  1660. 

William  Allen  died  iu  the  Alden  Allen  house  Oct.  1, 1705,  aged  about  80  years,  having 
lived  in  the  marriage  relation  fifty-five  years  with  his  wife  Priscilla,  who  survived  him, 
certainly  thirty-three  years  in  the  house  in  which  he  died,  probably  tlie  whole  period.  His 
house,  during  the  latter  part  oihis  life,  and  when  owned  by  his  successors  Daniel,  Cornelius, 
Georae,  and  William,  was  the  resort  of  numerous  Friends  at  their  quarterly,  monthly,  and 
weekly  meeetings.  The  ot-cupants  were  hospitable  ami  provided  liberally  for  all  whocame. 
It  should  be  regarded  by  the  Friends  as  their  "Mecca"  and  be  preserved  as  a  monument  of 
the  "olden  time."    The  associations  connected  with  that  old  "south  end"  would  be  pleasant. 


GENEALOGICAL  NOTES  OF  BARNSTABLE  FAMILIES.    265 

were  among  the  first  in  Sandwich  who  embraced  the  principles  of 
the  Quakers.  His  father  was  an  Ana  Baptist,  a  sect  that  held  to 
some  of  the  peculiar  doctrines  of  the  Qualters.  His  six  sons  and 
others  in  Sandwich  belonged  to  the  same  sect,  or  sympathized  in 
the  views  of  the  elder  Allen,  and  readily  received  the  doctrines  of 
the  Quakers.  The  father  had,  ten  years  before  the  time  of  Bar- 
low, "laid  down  his  life  in  peace."  His  sons  were  industrious  and 
prudent.  William  had  accumlated  a  good  estate  for  those  times, 
was  hospitable,  and  his  house  was  the  resort  of  the  early  Friends. 
The  distraints  which  the  Marshal  had  mad«  in  1658  and  9,  in  pay- 
ment of  the  fines  which  had  been  imposed  on  him,  had  strip't  him 
of  nearly  all  his  goods.  His  house,  his  lands,  a  cow,  left  "out  of 
pity,"  a  little  corn,  and  a  few  articles  of  household  furniture, 
were  all  that  remained,  and  he  was  living  on  bread  and  water,  a 
prisoner  in  the  common  jail  in  Boston.  These  things  did  not 
move  him,  he  held  fast  to  bis  faith. 

Such  was  the  condition  of  the  family,  when  the  Marshal 
appeared  with  a  warrant  to  collect  additional  fines.  The  sancti- 
monious Barlow  was  drunk.  The  distress  of  the  wife  did  not 
move  him.  He  took  the  cow  which  had  been  left  "out  of  pity," 
the  little  corn  remaining,  and  a  bag  of  meal  which  a  kind  neigh- 
bor had  just  brought  from  the  mill.  This  was  insufficient.  He 
seized  a  copper  kettle,  (two  iron  pots  according  to  one  tradition) 
the  only  one  remaining,  and  then  mockingly  addressing  Mrs. 
Allen,  said:  "Now  Priscilla,  how  will  thee  cook  for  thy  family 
and  friends,  thee  has  no  kettle."  Mrs.  Allen  meekly  replied : 
"George,  that  God  who  hears  the  young  ravens  when  they  cry, 
will  provide  for  them.  I  trust  in  that  God,  and  I  verily  believe 
the  time  will  come  when  thy  necessity  will  be  greater  than  mine." 
George  carried  away  the  goods,  but  he  remembered  the  "testi- 
mony" and  lived  to  see  it  verified. 

Friends,  and  among  them  were  many  who  had  no  sympathy 
for  the  doctrines  of  the  Quakers,  immediately  provided  for  all 
Mrs.  Allen's  wants,  and  soon  after  the  trembling  Magistrates  of 
Massachusetts,  fearing  that  the  royal  displeasure  would  be  visited 
on  their  own  heads,  opened  their  prison  doors,  and  ordered  all 
.who  were  in  bonds,  for  conscience  sake,  to  depart. 

The  letter  of  King  Charles  was  dated  Sept.  9,  1661,  and  was 
addressed  to  all  the  Governors,  Magistrates,  &c.,  in  his  colonies 
in  New  England,  ordering  them  "to  forbear  to  proceed  any 
further"  against  the  Quakers,  and  to  send  such  as  were  imprisoned 
to  England  for  ti'ial.  The  bearer  of  this  dispatch  was  Samuel 
Shattuck,  a  Quaker  who  had  been  banished  from  Massachusetts 
on  pain  of  death.  He  delivered  the  King's  letter  to  Gov.  Endicot. 
It  must  have  been  exceedingly  mortifying  to  the  Magistrates,  to 

The  men,  whose  names  now  belong  to  history,  met  there,  they  took  sweet  counsel  together, 
and  there  would  some  of  their  descendants  delight  to  assemble  and  recall  the  memories  of 
the  past. 


266         GENEALOGICAL    NOTES    OF    BARNSTABLE    FAMILIES. 

have  been  obliged  to  give  audience  to,  and  receive  the  King's 
letter  from  the  hands  of  one  whom  they  had  banished. 

The  news  of  the  King's  letter  fell  like  a  thunderbolt  on  Bar- 
low. He  had  grown  rich  "on  the  spoils  of  the  innocent,"  but  in 
after  times  he  was  very  poor,  and  often  wished  for  the  return  of 
"the  good  times,"  as  he  called  the  four  years  from  1657  to  1661. 
In  Iiis  old  age  he  often  craved  Priscilla's  charity;  She  always 
administered  to  his  wants,  and  though  he  never  went  from  her 
door  empty  handed,  yet  he  was  never  grateful ;  and  was  always 
sighing  for  the  return  of  the  "good  old  times." 

Barlow  died  as  he  lived,  a  poor  miserable  drunkard.  No 
loving  hand  smoothed  his  brow  in  death,  and  no.  stone  tells  where 
he  lies. 

It  is  not  surprising  that  the  persecutions  of  the  Quakers  at 
Sandwich  should  have  aroused  the  indignation  of  such  men  as 
Cudworth,  Hatherly,  and  Robinson — it  is  surprising  that  the  acts  of 
Barlow  should  have  found  an  apologist  in  the  Old  Colony.  William 
Allen  was  not  the  greatest  sufferer.  Edward  Perry,  who  resided  at 
East  Sandwich,  was  wealthy,  a  man  who  had  been  well  educated, 
he  suffered  more.  Robert  Harper  had  his  house  and  lands  and  all 
that  he  had  taken,  and  suffered  many  cruel  imprisonments  and 
punishments.  Thomas  Johnson,  the  poor  weaver,  to  whom  Mr. 
Cudworth  refers,  was  strip't  of  all  he  had.  Not  only  were  their 
goods  taken  from  them,  and  cruel  punishments  inflicted  ;  but  they 
were  disfranchised,  even  those  who  were  of  the  first  settlers  and 
had  lived  in  Sandwich,  twenty  years.  Oct.  2,  1658,  nine  were 
disfranchised  by  the  Colony  Court,  for  being,  or  sympathizing 
with  the  Quakers,  and  it  was  farther  ordered,  that  no  man  should 
thereafter  be  admitted  an  inhabitant  of  Sandwich,  or  enjoy  the 
privileges  thereof  without  the  approbation  of  the  church,  Gov. 
Prence,  or  one  of  the  assistants. 

During  the  Protectorates  in  England  a  similar  feeling  existed 
there,  and  the  injudicious  legislation  of  New  England  was  only 
the  echo  of  the  Puritan  opinion  in  the  mother  country.  Mr. 
Palfrey  in  his  excellent  history  of  New  England,  remarks  on  this 
subject:  "The  Puritan's  mistake  at  a  later  period  was:  that  he 
undertook  by  public  regulation  what  public  regulation  can  never 
achieve,  and  by  aiming  to  form  a  nation  of  saints,  introduced 
hypocrites  among  them  to  defeat  their  objects  and  bring  scandal  on 
their  cause,  while  the  saints  were  made  no  more  numerous  and  no 
better." 

The  following  letter  of  Mr.  Cudworth  to  Mr.  John  Brown 
was  written  in  December  1658,  and  printed  the  next  year  in  Eng- 
land, and  probably  had  an  influence  in  determining  King  Charles 
to  issue  his  letter  or  mandamus.  Mr.  Deane,  in  his  histf^ry  of 
Scituate,  publishes  the  letter  substantially,  omitting  many  passages 


GENEALOGICAL    NOTES    OF    BARNSTABLE    FAMILIES.         267 

and  modernizing  the  language  in   some  instances.     I  prefer  to 
give  the  letter  as  written  by  Mr.  Cudworth : 

LETTER  OF  JAMES  CUDWORTH. 

SciTUATB,  10th  mo.  1658. 
As  for  the  State  and  condition  of  Things  amongst  us,  it  is 
Sad,  and  like  so  to  continue  ;  the  Antichristian  Persecuting  Spirit 
is  very  active,  and  that  in  the  Powers  of  this  World  :  He  that  will 
not  whip  and  Lash,  Persecute  and  Punish  Men  that  Differ  in 
Mattefs  of  Religion,  must  not  sit  on  the  Bench,  nor  sustain  any 
Office  in  the  Common-wealth.  Last  election,  Mr.  Hatherly,  and 
my  Self,  left  off  the  Bench,  and  mj  self  Discharged  of  my 
Captainship,  because  I  had  Entertained  some  of  the  Quakers  at 
my  House  (thereby  that  I  might  be  the  better  acquainted  with  their 
Principles)  I  thought  it  better  fo  to  do,  than  with  the  blind 
World,  to  Censure,  Condemn,  Rail  at,  and  Revile  them,  when 
they  neither  faw  their  Persons,  nor  knew  any  of  their  Principles : 
But  the  Quakers  and  my  felf  cannot  close  in  divers  Things  ;  and 
fo  I  signified  to  the  Court,  I  was  no  Quaker,  but  must  bear  my 
Testimony  against  sundry  Things  that  they  held,  as  I  had  Occasion 
and  Opportunity:  But  withal,  I  told  them.  That  as  I  was  no 
Quaker,  fo  I  would  be  no  Persecutor.  This  Spirit  did  Work  those 
two  Years  that  I  was  of  the  Magistracy  ;  during  which  time  I  was 
on  sundry  Occasions  forced  to  declare  my  Dissent,  in  sundry 
Actings  of  that  Nature  ;  which,  altho'  done  with  all  Moderation 
of  Expression,  together  with  due  respect  unto  the  Rest,  yet  it 
wrought  great  Disaffection  and  Prejudice  in  them,  against  me  ;  so 
that  if  I  should  say,  some  of  themselves  set  others  on  Work  to 
frame  a  Petition  against  me,  that  so  they  might  have  a  seeming 
Ground  from  others  (tho'  first  moved  and  acted  by  themselves,  to 
lay  what  they  could  under  Reproach)  I  should  do  no  wrong.  The 
Petition  was  with  Nineteen  Hands  ;  it  will  be  too  long  to  make 
Rehearsal :  It  wrought  such  a  disturbance  in  our  Town,  and 
in  our  Military  Company,  that  when  the  Act  of  Court  was 
read  in  the  Head  of  the  Company,  had  I  not  been  present, 
and  made  a  Speech  to  them,  I  fear  there  had  been  such  Actings  as 
would  have  been  of  a  sad  Consequence.  The  Court  was  again 
followed  with  another  Petition  of  Fifty  Four  Hands,  and  the 
Court  returned  the  Petitioners  an  Answer  with  such  plausibleness 
of  Speech,  carrying  with  it  great  shew  of  Respect  to  them,  readily 
acknowledging,  with  the  Petitioners,  my  Parts  and  Gifts,  and  how 
useful  1  had  been  in  my  Place  ;  Professing,  they  had  nothing  at  all 
against  me,  only  in  that  thing  of  giving  Entertainment  to  Quakers  ; 
whereas,  I  broke  no  Law  in  giving,  them  a  Night's  Lodging  or 
two,  and  some  Victuals  :  For,  our  Law  then  was, — If  any  Enter- 
tain a  Quaker,  and  keep  him  after  he  is  warned  by  a  Magistrate 
to  Depart,  the  Party  so  Entertaining,  shall  pay  Twenty  Shillings 
a  Week,  for  Entertaining  them. — Since  hath  been  made  a  Law, — 


268         GENEALOGICAL    NOTES    OF    BARNSTABLE    FAMILIES. 

If  any  Entertain  a  Quaker,  if  but  a  quarter  of  an  Hour,  he  is  to 
forfeit  Five  Pounds. — Another, — That  if  any  see  a  Quaker,  he  is 
bound,  if  he  live  Six  Miles  or  moi-e  from  the  Constable,  yet  he 
must  presently  go  and  give  Notice  to  the  Constable,  or  else  is 
subject  to  the  Censure  of  the  Court  (which  may  be  hanging) — 
Another, — That  if  the  Constable  know,  or  hear  of  any  ( Juaker  in 
his  Precincts,  he  is  presently  to  Apprehend  him,  and  if  he  will  not 
presently  Depart  the  Town,  the  Constable  is  to  whip  him,  and  send 
him  away.  The  divers  have  been  Whipped  with  us  in  our  Patent ; 
and  truly  to  tell  you  plainly,  that  the  Whipping  of  them  with  that 
Cruelty,  as  some  have  been  Whipp'd,  and  their  Patience  under  it, 
has  sometimes  been  the  Occasion  of  gaining  more  Adherence  to 
them,  than  if  they  had  suffered  them  openly  to  have  preached  a 
Sermon. 

— Also  another  Law, — That  if  there  be  a  Quakers  Meeting 
any  where  in  the  Colony,  the  Party  in  whose  House  or  on  whose 
Ground  it  is,  is  to  pay  Forty  Shillings ;  The  Preaching-Quaker 
Forty  Shillings  ;  every  Hearer  Forty  Shillings :  Yea,  and  if  they 
have  Meetings,  thou'  nothing  be  spoken,  when  they  so  meet,  which 

they  say,  so  it  falls  out  sometimes Our  last  Law, That  now 

they  are  to  be  Apprehended,  and  carried  before  a  Magistrate,  and 
by  him  committed  to  be  kept  close  Prisoners,  until  they  will 
promise  to  depart,  and  never  come  again  ;  and  will  also  pay  their 
Fees — (which  I  preceive  they  will  do  neither  the  one  nor  the 
other)  and  they  must  be  kept  only  with  the  Counties  Allowance, 
which  is  but  small  (namely  Course  Bread  and  Water)  No  Friend 
may  bring  them  any  thing  ;  none  may  be  permitted  to  speak  with 
them ;  Nay,  if  they  have  money  of  then-  own,  they  ma\'  not  make 
use  of  that  to  relieve  themselves. 

In  the  Massachusetts  (namely,  Boston-Colony)  after  they 
have  Whipp'd  them,  they  Cut  their  Ears,  they  have  now,  at  last, 
gone  the  furthest  step  they  can.  They  Banish  them  upon  pain  of 
Death,  if  they  ever  come  there  again.  We  expect  that  we  must 
do  the  like  ;  we  must  Dance  Aftei  their  Pipe  :  Now  Plimouth-Sad- 
dle  is  on  the  Bay-Horse  (viz.  Boston)  we  shall  follow  them  on  the 
Career :  For,  it  is  well  if  in  some  there  be  not  a  Desire  to  be  their 
Apes  and  Imitators  in  all  their  Proceedings  in  things  of  this 
Nature. 

All  these  Carnel  and  Antichristian  Ways  being  not  of  God's 
Appointment,  effect  nothing  as  to  the  Obstructing  or  Hindring  of 
them  in  their  way  or  Course.  It  is  only  the  Word  or  Spu'it  of  the 
Lord  that  is  able  to  Convince  Gainsayers  :  They  are  the  Mighty 
Weapons  of  a  Christian's  Warfare,  by  which  Great  and  Mighty 
Things  are  done  and  accomplished. 

They  have  many  Meetings,  and  many  Adherents,  almost  the 
whole  Town  of  Sandwich  is  adhering  towards  them  ;  and  give  me 
leave  a  little  to  acquaint  you  with  their  Sufferings,  which  is  Griev- 


GENEALOGICAL    NOTES    OF    BARNSTABLE    FAMILIES.         269 

ous  unto,  and  Saddens  the  Heart  of  most  of  the  Precious  Saints 
of  God  ;  It  lies  down  and  rises  up  with  them,  and  they  cannot  put 
it  out  of  their  minds,  to  see  and  hear  of  poor  Families  deprived 
of  their  Comforts,  and  brought  into  Penury  tind  Want  (you  may 
say.  By  what  Means?  And,  to  what  End?)  As  far  as  I  am 
able  to  judge  of  the  End,  It  is  to  force  them  from  their  Homes 
and  lawful  Habitations,  and  to  drive  them  out  of  their  Coasts. 
The  Massachusetts  have  Banish'd  Six  of  their  Inhabitants,  to  be 
gone  upon  pain  of  Death ;  and  I  wish  that  Blood  be  not  shed  : 
But  our  poor  People  are  pillaged  and  plundered  of  their  Goods  ; 
and  haply,  when  they  have  no  more  to  satisfy  their  unsatiable 
Desire,  at  last  may  be  forced  to  flee,  and  glad  they  have  their 
Lives  for  a  Prey. 

As  for  the  Means  by  which  they  are  impoverished  ;  These  in 
the  first  place  were  Scrupulous  of  an  Oath  ;  why  then  we  must  put 
in  Force  an  old  Law, — That  all  must  take  the  Oath  of  Fidelity. 
This  being  tendered,  they  will  not  take  it ;  and  then  we  must  add 
more  Force  to  the  Law  ;  and  that  is, — If  any  Man  refuse,  or 
neglect  to  take  it  by  such  a  time,  he  shall  pay  Five  Pounds,  or 
depart  the  Colony. — When  the  time  is  come,  they  are  the  same  as 
they  were ;  Then  goes  out  the  Marshal,  and  f  etcheth  away  their 
Gows  and  other  Cattle.  Well,  another  Court  comes,  They  are 
required  to  take  the  Oath  again,  —  They  cannot — Then  Five 
Pounds  more  :  On  this  Account  Thirty  Five  Head  of  Cattle,  as  I 
have  been  credibly  informed,  hath  been  by  the  Authority  of  our 
Court  taken  from  them  the  latter  part  of  this  Summer  ;  and  these 

people  say, If  they  have  more  right  to  them,  than  themselves, 

Let  them  take  them. Some  that  had  a  Cow  only,  some  Two 

Cows,  some  Three  Cows,  and  many  small  Children  in  their 
Families,  to  whom,  in  Summer  time,  a  Cow  or  Two  was  the  great- 
est Ontward  Comfort  they  had  for  their  Subsistence.  A  poor 
Weaver  that  had  Seven  or  Eight  small  children  (I  know  not  which) 
he  himself  Lame  in  his  Body,  had  but  Two  Cows,  and  both  taken 
from  him.     The   Marshal   asked   him.  What   he  would   do?     He 

must  have  his  Cows.     The  Man  said, That  God  that  gave  him 

them,  he  doubted  not,  but  would  still  provide  for  him. 

To  fill  up  the  measure  yet  more  full,  tho'  to  the  further 
emptying  of  Sandwich-Men  of  their  outward  Comforts.  The  last 
Court  of  Assistants,  the  first  Tuesday  of  this  Instant,  the  Court 
was  pleased  to  determine  Fines  on  Sandwich-Men  for  Meetings, 
sometimes  on  First  Days  of  the  Week,  sometimes  on  other  Days, 
as  they  say  :  They  m5et  ordinarily  twice  in  a  Week,  besides  the 
Lord's  Day,  One  Hundred  and  Fifty  Pounds,  whereof  W.  New- 
land  is  Twenty  Four  Pounds,  for  himself  and  his  Wife,  at  Ten 
Shillings  a  Meeting.  W.  Allen  Forty  Six  Pounds,  some  affirm  it 
Forty  Nine  Pounds.  The  poor  Weaver  afore  spoken  of.  Twenty 
Pounds,  Brother  Cook  told  me,  one  of  the  Brethen  at  Barnstable 


270         GENEALOGICAL    NOTES    OF    BARNSTABLE    FAMILIES. 

certified  him,  That  he  was  in  the  Weaver's  House,  when  cruel 
Barloe  (Sandwich  Marshal)  came  to  demand  the  Sum,  and  said, 
he  was  fully  informed  of  all  the  poor  Man  had,  and  thought,  if  all 
lay  together,  it  was  not  worth  Ten  Pounds.  What  will  be  the 
end  of  such  Courses  and  Practices,  the  Lord  only  knows.  I 
heartily  and  earnestly  pray,  that  these,  and  such  like  Courses, 
neither  raise  up  among  us,  or  bring  in  upon  us,  either  the  Sword,  or 
any  devouring  Calamity,  as  a  just  Avenger  of  the  Lord's  Quarrel, 
for  Acts  of  Injustice  and  Oppression  ;  and  that  we  may  every  one 
find  out  the  Plague  of  his  own  Heart ;  and  putting  away  the  Evils 
of  his  own  Doings,  and  meet  the  Lord  by  Entreaties  of  Peace, 
before  it  be  too  late,  and  there  be  no  Eemedy. 

Our  Civil  Powers  are  so  exercised  in  Things  appertaining  to 
the  Kingdom  of  Christ,  in  Matters  of  Religion  and  Conscience, 
that  we  have  no  time  to  effect  any  thing  that  tends  to  the  Promo- 
tion of  the  Civil  Weal,  or  the  prosperity  of  the  Place  ;  but  now  we 
must  have  a  State-Religion,  such  as  the  Powers  of  the  World  will 
allow,  and  no  other :  A  State-Ministry,  and  a  State  way  of 
Maintenance  :  And  we  must  Worship  and  Serve  the  Lord  Jesus 
as  the  World  shall  appoint  lis :  We  must  all  go  to  the  publick 
Place  of  Meeting,  in  the  Parish  where  he  dwells,  or  be  prevented  ; 
I  am  Informed  of  Three  or  Fourscore,  last  Court  presented,  for- 
not  coming  to  publick  Meetings ;  and  let  me  tell  you  how  they 
brought  this  about :  You  may  remember  a  Law  once  made,  call'd 
Thomas  Hinckley's  Law, — That  if  any  neglected  the  Worship  of 
God,  in  the  Place  where  he  lives,  and  sets  up  a  Worship  contrary 
to  God,  and  the  Allowance  of  this  Government,  to  the  public 
Prophanation  of  God's  Holy  Day  and  Ordinance,  shall  pay  Ten 
Shillings. — This  Law  would  not  reach  what  then  was  aimed  at : 
Because  he  must  do  so  and  so ;  that  is,  all  things  therein  ex- 
pressed, or  else  break  not  the  Law.  In  March  last  a  Court  of 
Deputies  was  called,  and  some  Acts  touching  Quakers  were  made ; 
and  then  they  contrived  to  make  this  Law  serviceable  to  them  ; 
and  that  was  by  putting  out  the  word  [and]  and  putting  m  the 
word  [or]  which  is  a  Disjunctive,  and  makes  every  Branch  to 
bepome  a  Law.  So  now,  if  any  do  neglect,  or  will  not  come  to 
the  publick  Meetings,  Ten  Shillings  for  every  Defect.  Certainly 
we  either  have  less  Wit,  or  more  Money,  than  the  Massachusetts  : 
For,  for  Five  Shilling  a  Day,  a  man  may  stay  away,  till  it  come  to 
Twelve  or  Thirteen  Pounds,  if  he  had  it  but  to  pay  them :  And 
these  Men  altering  this  Law  now  in  March,  yet  left  it  Dated, 
June  6,  1651,  and  so  it  stands  as  the  Act  -of  a  General  Court; 
they  to  be  the  Authors  of  it  Seven  Years  before  it  was  in  being  ; 
and  so  you  your  selves  have  your  part  and  share  in  it,  if  the 
Recorder  lye  not.  But  what  may  be  the  Reason  that  they  should 
not  by  anc'ther  Law,  made  and  dated  by  that  Court,  as  well  effect 
what  was  intended,  as  by  altering  a  Word,  and  so  the  whole  sense 


GENEALOGICAL    NOTES    OF    BARNSTABLE    FAMILIES.         271 

of  the  Law  ;  and  leave  this  their  Act  by  the  Date  of  it  charged  on 
another  Court's  Account?  Surely  the  chief  Instruments  in  the 
Busiaess,  being  privy  to  an  Act  of  Parliament  for  Liberty,  should 
too  openly  have  acted  repugnant  to  a  Law  of  England ;  but  if 
they  can  do  the  Thing,  and  leave  it  on  a  Court,  as  making  it  Six 
Years  before  the  Act  of  Parliament,  there  can  be  no  danger  in 
this.  And  that  they  were  privy  to  the  Act  of  Parliament  for 
Liberty,  to  be  then  in  being,  is  evident,  That  the  Deputies  might 
be  free  so  act  it.  They  told  us,  That  now  the  Protector  stood  not 
engaged  to  the  Articles  for  Liberty,  for  the  Parliament  had  now 
taken  the  Power  into  their  own  Hands,  and  had  given  the  Pro- 
tector a  new  Oath,  Only  in  General,  to  maintain  the  Protestant 
Religion ;  and  so  produced  the  Oath  in  a  Paper,  in  Writing ; 
whereas,  the  Act  of  Parliament,  and  the  Oath,  are  both  in  one 
Book,  in  Print :  So  that  they  who  were  privy  to  the  one,  could  not 
be  Ignorant  of  the  other.  But  still  all  is  well,  if  we  can  keep  the 
People  Ignorant  of  their  Liberties  and  Priviledges,  that  we  have 
Liberty  to  Act  in  our  own  "Wills  what  we  please. 

We  are  wrapped  up  in  a  Labyrinth  of  Confused  Laws,  that 
the  Freemen's  Power  is  quite  gone ;  and  it  was  said,  last  June- 
Court,  by  one, — That  they  knew  nothing  the  Freemen  had  there  to 
do. — Sandwich-Men  may  go  to  the  Bay,  lest  they  be  taken  up  for 
Quakers :  W.  Newland  was  there  about  his  Occasions,  some  Ten 
Days  since,  and  they  put  him  in  Prison  Twenty  Four  Hours,  and 
sent  for  divers  to  Witness  against  him ;  but  they  had  not  Proof 
enough  to  make  him  a  Quaker,  which  if  they  had,  he  should  have 
been  Whipp'd :  Nay,  they  may  not  go  about  their  Occasions  in 
other  Towns  in  our  Colony,  but  Warrants  lie  in  Ambush  to 
Apprehend  and  bring  them  before  a  Magistrate,  to  give  an 
Account  of  their  Business.  Some  of  the  Quakers  in  Rhode 
Island  came  to  bring  Goods,  to  Trade  with  them,  and  that 
for  far  Reasonabler  Terms,  than  the  Professing  and  Oppressing 
Merchants  of  the  Country  ;  but  that  will  not  be  suffered  :  So  that 
unless  the  Lord  step  in,  to  their  Help  and  Assistance,  in  some  way 
beyond  Man's  Conceiving,  their  Case  is  sad,  and  to  be  pitied  ;  and 
truly  it  moves  Bowels  of  Compassion  in  ail  sorts,  except  those  in 
place,  who  carry  it  with  a  high  Hand  towards  them.  Through 
Mercy  we  have  yet  among  us  worthy  Mr.  Dunster,  whom  the  Lord 
hath  made  boldly  to  bear  Testimony  against  the  Spirit  of 
Persecution. 

Our  Bench  now  is,  Tho.  Prence,  Governour ;  Mr.  Collier, 
Capt.  Willet,  Capt.  Winslow,  Mr.  Alden,  Lieut.  Southworth,  W. 
Bradford,  Tho.  Hinckley.  Mr.  Collier  left  June  would  not  sit  on 
the  Bench,  if  I  sate  there ;  and  now  will  not  sit  the  next  Year, 
unless  he  may  have  Thirty  Pounds  sit  by  him.  Our  Court  and 
Deputies  last  June  made  Capt.  Winslow  a  Major.  Surely  we  are 
Mercenary  Soldiers,  that  must  have  a   Major  imposed  Upon  us. 


272         GENEALOGICAL    NOTES    OF    BARNSTABLE    FAMILIES. 

Doubtless  next  Court  they  -may  choose  us  a  Governour,  and 
Assistants  also.  A  Freeman  shall  need  to  do  nottijng  but  bear 
such  Burdens  as  are  laid  upon  him.  Mr.  Alden  has  deceived  the 
Expectations  of  many,  and  indeed  lost  the  Affection  of  such,  as 
I  judge  were  his  Cordial  Christian  Friends  ;  who  is  very  active  in 
such  Ways,  as  I  pray  God  may  not  be  charged  on  him,  to  be 
Oppression  of  a  High  Nature.  James  Ccdwokth. 

A  tabular  statement  of  the  amount  of  the  fines,  &c.,  of  the 
Sandwich  Quakers  in  the  years  1658,  1659  and  1660  : 


Cattle  taken.            Remarks. 

£ 

Shs 

Kalph   Allen,  Sen'r, 

8 

3  horses,  &c. 

68 

Ralph       "      Jr., 

4 

18 

Joseph      " 

2  pr.  Wheels  and  a 

Cloak  ■ 

5 

12 

George      " 

8 

25 

15 

William    " 

IS 

1  horse,  2  colts,  15 

bush,  corn,  &c. 

86 

17 

Matthew,  " 

16 

8  bnsh.  corn, 

48 

16 

John          " 

5 

Thomas  Greenfield, 

1 

all  his  corn, 

4 

Robert  Harper, 
William  Giflord, 

9 

house  &  land. 

44 

15 

1-2  house,  1-2  pig. 

57 

19 

Peter  Grant, 

10 

1  horse,  corn,  and  wheat. 

43 

14 

Ralph  Jones, 

4 

1 

Thomas  Johnson, 

house  &  land. 

10 

John  Jenkins, 

3 

money  £8, 

19 

10 

Thomas  Ewer, 

money,  chest,  clothing, 

axe, 

25 

08 

Rich,  Kerby,  Sr.,  &  Jr., 

15 

S  bush,  corn. 

87 

12 

Wm.  Newland, 

2 

2  horses. 

36 

John  Newland, 

1  horse. 

2 

06 

Edward  Perry, 

17 

tar,  feathers,  &c.. 

89 

18 

Michael  Turner, 

9  sheep. 

13 

10 

Daniel  Wing, 

12 

Cattle  taken,  129,  3  horses,  9  sheep,     £679,02. 

To  the  above  lists  may  be  added  the  names  of  Stephen  Wing, 
Henry  Saunders,  Samuel  Kerley  and  others.  Ralf  Jones'  house 
was  in  Barnstable,  but  close  to  the  Sandwich  bound.  He  belonged 
to  the  Sandwich  Meeting.  He  does  not  appear  to  have  been  fined 
only  £1  for  not  attending  meetings.  Keith's  wonderful  story 
about  his  cows,  wants  confirmation. 

From  1660  to  1673,  Capt.  Cudworth  resided  at  Scituate. 
During  this  period  he  was  often  employed  in  settling  differences 
between  his  neighbors,  &c.,  but  sustained  no  office.  In  1666  he 
was  nominated  by  the  military  company  of  Scituate  to  the  oflflce 
of  Captain,  against  the  advice  of  the  Court,  and  his  appointment 
was  not  confirmed.  This  vote 'shows  that  he  was  held  in  high 
estimation  by  his  townsmen.  June  3,  1773,  Major  JosiahWinslow 
succeeded  Mr.  Thomas  Prence  as  Governor,  and  made  honorable 
amends  for  the  abuse  and  neglect  which  Capt.  Cudworth  had 
received  from  his  predecessor.  He  was,  at  the  July  Court  re- 
established into  the  right  and  privilege  of  a  citizen,  and  authorized 
to  solemize  marriages,  grant  subpoenas  for  witness,  and  to  admin- 
ister oaths.  Dec.  17,  1673,  he  was  unanimously  appointed 
Captain  of  the  Plymouth  forces  in  the  proposed  expedition  against 


GEN^EALOGICAL    NOTES    OF    BARNSTABLE    FAMILIES.         278 

the  Dutch  at  New  York.  The  following  quotations  from  his  letter 
to  Gov.  Winslow,  declining  the  appointment,  I  find  in  Deane'a 
History  of  Scituate : 

"Sir,  I  do  unfeignedly  and  most  ingenuously  receive  the 
Court's  valuation  and  estimation  of  me,  in  preferring  me  to  such 
a  place.  It  is  not  below  me  or  beneath  me,  (as  some  deem  theirs 
to  be),  but  is  above  me,  and  far  beyond  any  desert  of  mine  ;  and 
had  the  Court  been  well  acquainted  with  my  insufficiency  for"  such 
an  undertaking,  doubtless  I  should  not  have  been  in  nomination ; 
neither  would  it  have  been  their  wisdom  to  hazard  the  cause  and 
the  lives  of  their  men  upon  an  instrument  so  unaccomplished  for 
the  well  management  of  so  great  a  concern.  So  being  persuaded 
to  myself  of  my  own  insufficiency  it  appears  clearly  and  undoubt- 
ediey  unto  me,  that  I  have  no  call  of  God  thereunto :  for  vox 
populi,  is  not  always  vox  Dei.  Beside,  it  is  evident  unto  me, 
upon  other  considerations,  I  am  not  called  of  God  unto  this  work 
at  this  time.  The  estate  and  condition  of  my  family  is  such  as 
will  not  admit  of  such  a  thing,  being  such  as  can  hardly  be 
paralleled  ;  which  was  well  know  unto  some  :  but  it  was  not  well 
or  friendly  done  as  to  me,  nor  faithfully  as  to  the  country,  if  they 
did  not  lay  my  condition  before  the  Court.  My  wife,  as  so  well 
known  unto  the  whole  town,  is  not  only  a  weak  woman,  but  has 
so  been  all  klong  ;  and  now  by  reason  of  age,  being  sixty-seven 
years  and  upwards,  and  nature  decaying,  so  her  illness  grows 
strongly  upon  her. 

'■'Sir,  I  can  truly  say  that  I  do  not  in  the  least  waive  the  busi- 
ness out  of  any  discontent  in  my  spirit  arising  from  any  former 
difference :  for  the  thought  of  all  which  is  and  shall  be  forever 
buried,  so  as  not  to  come  in  rcjaembrance  :  neither  out  of  any 
effeminate  or  dastardly  spirit ;  but  I  am  as  freely  willing  to  serve 
my  King  and  my  Country  as  any  man,  in  what  I  am  capable  and 
fitted  for  :  but  I  do  not  understand  that  a  man  is  called  to  serve 
his  country  with  the  inevitable  ruin  and  destruction  of  his  own 
family. 

"These  things  being  premised,  I  know  your  Honor's  wisdom 
and  prudence  to  be  such,  that  you  will,  upon  serious  considera- 
tion thereof,  conclude  that  I  am  not  called  of  God  to  embrace 
the  call  of  the  General  Court.  Sir,  when  I  consider  the  Court's 
act  in  pitching  their  thoughts  upon  me,  I  have  many  musings  what 
should  be  the  reason  moving  them  thereunto ;  I  conceive  it  cannot 
be,  that  I  should  be  thought  to  have  more  experience  and  better 
abilities  than  others,  for  you,  with  many  others,  do  well  known, 
that  when  I  entered  upon  military  employ,  I  was  very  raw  in  the 
theoretic  part  of  war,  and  less  acquainted  with  the  practical  part : 
and  it  was  not  long  that  I  sustained  my  place  in  which  I  had 
occasion  to  bend  my  mind  and  thoughts  that  way ;  but  was  dis- 
charged thereof,  and  of  other  publick  concerns  :    and  therein  I 


274         GENEALOGICAL    NOTES    OF    BARNSTABLE    FAMILIES. 

took  VOX  populi  to  be  vox  Dei,  and  that  God  did  thereby  call  and 
design  me  to  sit  still  and  be  sequestered  from  all  publick  transac- 
tions, which  condition  suits  me  so  well  that  I  have  received  more 
satisfaction  and  contentment  therein,  than  ever  I  did  in  sustain- 
ing any  publick  place." 

Capt.  Cudworth  was  chosen,  in  1674,  an  assistant,  and 
annually  thereafter  till  1680.  In  1674,  though  over  70  years  of 
age,  was  re-established  Captain  of  the  Military  Company -in 
Scituate.  Oct.  4,  1675,  "Major  James  Cudworth  was  unanimously 
chosen  and  re-established  in  the  office  of  a  General  or  Commander- 
in-chief,  to  take  the  charge  of  our  forces  that  are  or  may  be  sent 
forth  in  the  behalf  of  the  Colony  against  the  enemy,  as  occasion 
may  require." 

In  1678  he  was  on  the  committee  to  revise  the  laws,  and 
again  appointed  in  1681.  June  7,  1681,  he  was  chosen  a  Com- 
missioner of  the  United  Colonies,  and  Duputy  Governer.  In 
Sept.  1681,  he  went  over  to  England  as  the  Agent  of  the 
Colony,  and  died  of  the  small  pox  in  London  in  the  spring  of  the 
following  3'ear. 

Thus  ended  the  life  of  one  who,  take  him  all  in  all,  had  no 
superior  in  the  Old  Colony.  As  a  christian,  he  was  meek,  humble, 
and  toleraut ;  as  a  neighbor,  he  was  mild,  humane,  and  useful ;  as 
a  man,  he  was  magnanimous  in  all  his  acts,  and  as  a  commander 
be  was  brave  and  able,  and  had  the  entire  confidence  of  his 
soldiers.  When  disfranchised  and  thrust  out  of  office,  he  did  not 
murmur,  he  regretted  that  some  of  his  ancient  friends,  particularly 
John  Alden,  should  be  led  astray,  and  though  he  condemned  their 
acts,  yet  he  never  allowed  a  difference  of  opinion  to  break  the  ties 
of  friendship.  He  retired  to  his  farm,  and  for  thirteen  years  was 
constantly  engaged  in  rural  occupations.  Referring  to  this  period 
he  says,  they  were  the  happiest  years  of  his  life. 

It  is  no  credit  to  the  memory  of  Gov.  Thomas  Prence  that  he 
had  not  the"  magnanimity  to  do  justice  to  the  merits  of  Gen. 
Cudworth.  He  had  many  excellent  qualities,  but  toleration  in 
matters  of  faith  was  not  one  of  them,  and  therefore  his  hostility. 
Gov.  Hinckley  was  a  zealous  Puritan  ;  but  he  was  more  tolerant  and 
more  liberal  in  his  views.  He  never  joined  in  the  crusade  against 
the  Anna  Baptists,  and  in  respect  to  the  Quakers,  many  things 
have  been  laid  to  his  charge  of  which  he  was  not  guilty.  What- 
ever may  have  been  his  opinion  in  1658  and  1674,  he  and  all  the 
assistants  and  deputies  unanimously  co-operated  with  Gov. 
Winslow  in  awarding  justice  to  Gen.  Cudworth.  Such  conduct 
disai-ms  criticism.  Gen.  Cudworth  lived  down  all  opposition,  and 
in  his  old  age  the  highest  honors  in  the  gift  of  the  people  were 
freely  bestowed  on  him. 

Of  the  family  of  Gen.  Cudworth,  no  record  has  been  pre- 
served.    His  wife  was  living  in  1674,  but  had  deceased  at  the 


GENEALOGICAL    NOTES    OF    BAKNSTABLE    FAMILIES.         275 

date  of  his  will,  Sept.  15,  1681.  He  names  therein  his  sons 
James,  Israel,  and  Jonathan  and  daughter  Mary's  four  children, 
and  Hannah  Jones. 

His  children  were :  James,  baptized  in  Scituate  3d  May, 
1635;  Mary,  baptized  in  Scituate  23d  July,  1637;  Jonathan, 
baptized  in  Scituate  16th  Sept.  1638,  died  here;  Israel,  baptized 
in  Barnstable  18th  April,  1641  ;  Jonna,  baptized  in  Barnstable 
24th  March,  1643. 

Besides  these  he  had  a  son  buried  in  Barnstable  24th  June, 
1644,  who  died  young — a  daughter  Hannah,  and  another  son 
named  Jonathan. 

James  and  Jonathan  resided  in  Scituate  and  had  families. 
Israel  removed  to  Freetown. 


DAVIS. 


ROBERT    DAVIS 


Some  of  the  descendants  of  Robert  Davis*  have  supposed 
that  he  was  the  first  who  settled  in  that  part  of  Barnstable  known 
from  early  times  as  Oldtown.  But  this  is  a  mistake.  He  was  not 
the  first  nor  the  second-  Rev.  Stephen  Bachiller  and  his  company, 
settled  there  in  the  winter  of  1637-8.  William  Chase  owned  a 
farm  there  very  early,  probably  in  1639,  certainly  June  8,  1642, 
when  he  mortgaged  a  part  of  it  to  Stephen  Hopkins.  He  sold  out 
before  1648.  In  the  division  of  the  fences  that  year,  it  appears 
that  the  fence  on  the  south  boundary  of  his  land  extended  seventy 
rods.  In  1648,  the  Oldtown  lands  were  owned  by  the  following 
persons,  in  the  following  order,  beginning  on  the  east  at  Stony 
Cove,  as  the  mill-pond  was  then  called:  1st,  Mr.  Thomas  Allyn 
25  acres,  Mr.  Andrew  Hallett  8,  Goodman  Isaac  Wells  9, 
Goodman  James  Hamblin  9,  Mr.  John  Mayo  7,  Thomas  Huckins 
1,  Goodman  Rogers  Goodspeed  2,  Mr.  Henry  Coggin  4,  Samuel 
House  (or  Howes)  4,  the  Sachem  Nepoyetam  30,  and  the  Sachem 
Cacomicus  10.  The  quantities  here  given  included  only  the 
cleared  lands  fit  for  planting.  Forest,  swamps,  and  meadows, 
were  not  probably  included  in  the  measurement. 

In  January,  1648-9,  the  grist  mill  now  known  as  Hallett's 
water-mill,  had  been  built  and  the.  division  of  the  fences  com- 
menced at  the  mill.  Mr.  Allyn  had  purchased  largely,  and 
Samuel  Hinckley  seven  acres.  Mr.  Hallett,  Mr.  Coggin,  and 
Cacomicus,  had  sold  out.  After  this  date,  the  records  furnish  no 
means  of  tracing  the  ownership  of  these  lands. 

Robert  Davis'  name  appears  on  the  list  of  those  who  were 
able  to  bear  arms  in  Yarmouth  in  August,  1643.  He  married,  in 
1646,  and  his  daughters  Deborah  and  Mary  were  born  in  Yar- 
mouth the  latter  April  28,  1648.     The  birth  of  his  son  Andrew 

*  Two  of  the  name  of  Robert  Davis  came  over.  Robert  of  Sudbury,  bora  in  1609,  came 
(witli  Margaret  Davis,  perliaps  his  sister,  aged  26)  in  1638,  in  the  confidence  of  Southamptott 
as  servant  of  Peter  Noyes,  and  died  19th  July,  1755,  aged  47.  He  had  a  wife  Bridget  who 
sui-vived  him,  and  daugliters  Rebecca  and  Sarah  ;  the  Tatter  born  10th  April,  1646. 


GENEALOGICAL    NOTES    OP    BARNSTABLE    FAMILIES.         277 

in  May,  1650,  is  on  the  Barnstable,  and  not  on  the  Yarmoutli 
return,  which  fixes  the  date  of  his  removal  with  sufficient  exact- 
ness. 

Excepting  of  the  births  of  his  children,  the  earliest  entry  I 
find  of  his  name  on  the  records,  is  12th  May,  1657,  when  a  grant 
of  "a  parcel  of  common  land"  in  the  New  Common  Field  was 
made  to  him,  lying  between  the  lands  of  Goodman  Cobb  and 
Goodman  Gorham.  He  was  admitted  a  freeman  of  the  Colony 
in  1659. 

Robert  Davis  was  not  a  man  of  wealth,  was  not  distinguished 
in  political  life,  nor  was  he  ever  entitled  to  the  then  honorable 
appellation  of  "Mister;"  he  was 

"An  honest  good  man, 

And  got  his  living  by  his  labor, 

And  Goodman  Shelly*  was  his  neighbor." 

His  character  for  honesty  and  industry  he  transmitted  to  his 
posterity.]; 

His  lands  were  not  recorded  in  1654.  His  farm  in  1639,  was 
included  within  the  bounds  of  Yarmouth,  and  with  the  exception 
of  a  small  lot  owned  by  Robert  Shelly,  was  bounded  on  the  west 
by  Indian  Lane — the  original  boundary  between  the  towns — on 
the  east,  his  farm  was  bounded  by  the  lands  of  Joseph  Hallett, 
and  on  the  south  by  Dead  Swamp,  including  the  narrow  strip 
between  the  present  road  and  that  swamp.  The  easterly  part  of 
his  farm  was  a  part  of  the  William  Chase  farm.  The  westerly 
part  he  bought  of  the  town,  of  the  Indians,  and  of  James  Gor- 
ham, and  the  south  was  a  part  of  the  great  lot  of  Thomas  Lum- 
bert.§  His  house,  in  1686,  was  not  on  the  present  County  road, 
but  on  the  higher  ground  north,  of  the  swamp  where  the  first  road 
probably  passed.  In  1686,  the  house  of  Robert  Shelly  was  the 
next  west  of  that  of  Robert  Davis,  and  both  appear  to  have  been 
on  the  north  of  the  swamp.     In  that  year  the  town  granted  Good- 

*  Goodman  Shelly  was  a  v^ry  worthy,  unambitious  mau,  "a  rolling  stone  that  gathers  no 
moss" — in  other  words,  he  was  often  removed  from  place  to  place,  and  was  always  poor. 
His  wife.  Goody  Shelly,  was  a  Bay  lady,  and  a  cobbler  would  say  of  her,  was  "high  in  the  ' 
instep."  If  Mrs.  Lothrop  or  Mrs'.  Diminock  had  a  party,  if  she  was  not  an  invited  guest, 
she  took  great  oifeuce,  and  her  seat  at  church  on  the  following  Sabbath  would  be  vacant. 
Rev.  Mr.  Lothrop  complains  bitterly  of  this  trait  in  her  character. 

X  All  the  descendants  of  Robert  Davis  for  eight  successive  generations,  have  been 
noted  for  their  honest  dealings  aud  industrious  habits.  Of  the  whole  number,  I  find  only 
one  whose  character  for  integrity  was  doubted  by  his  neighbors.  Cornelius  Davis,  I  pre- 
sume, was  a  descendant  of  liobert,  though  the  evidence  is  not  satisfactory.  He  was  not 
reported  honest.  Perhaps  his  habit  of  carrying  an  Indian  basket  on  his  back  was  no 
credit  to  him.  It,  however,  is  said  that  other  peoples'  goods  got  into  that  basket.  Whether 
or  not  these  reports  were  slanderous  I  cannot  say ;  but  this  much  is  certain,  he  did  not  enjoy 
an  unspotted  i-eputation  for  honesty  and  integrity  in  his  dealings.  There  is  something  in 
race;  tor  even  now,  the  character  of  the  ancestor  can  be  traced  in  the  child  of  the  ninth 
generation. 

§  Thomas  Lumbert's  great  lot  was  all  finally  owned  by  the  descendants  of  Robert 
Davis.  In  1664,  the  western  part  was  owned  by  Samuel  Hinckley,  and  the  eastern  part  by 
the  widow  of  Nicholas  Davis.  Robert  Davis  appears  to  have  owned  the  uorth-easterly  part 
of  the  Lumbert  lot. 


278         GENKALOGIOAL    NOTES    OF    BARNSTABLE    FAMILIES. 

man  Shelly  a  part  of  the  swamp,  and  Robert  Davis  sold  him  "a 
small  gore  of  land,"  so  that  Shelly's  lands  was  afterwards  bounded 
south  by  the  present  highway.  This  addition  was  made  where 
the  late  Capt.  John  Easterbrooks'  old  house  now  stands.  Fifty 
years  ago  John,  Abner,  and  Elisha  T.  Davis,  sons  of  Joseph, 
owned  all  Eobert  Davis'  lands  on  the  north  of  the  highway. 

Robert  Davis  died  in  1693.  His  will  is  dated  April  14',  1688, 
and  proved  June  29,  1693.  He  names  his  wife  Ann.  To  his 
son  Joseph  he  devises  the  land  in  the  New  Common  Field,  which 
he  bought  of  the  Indians  ;||  and  to  Josiah  he  devises  the  two  acres 
of  land  in  the  Common  Field,  which  the  town  gTanted  to  him  in 
1657.  He  also  names  Josiah's  house  lot,  now  owned  by  Lot 
Easterbrooks.  He  also  names  his  son  Andrew,  to  whom  he  gave 
five  shillings,  and  his  son  Robert ;  also  his  daughters  Deborah 
Geere,  Sarah,  Mercy,  Mary  Dexter,  and  Hannah  Dexter.  His 
estate  was  apprised  at  £75,13,  a  small  sum  ;  but  it  must  be  remem- 
bered that  money  had  not  then  been  depreciated,  and  that  land  at 
that  time  was  not  valuable. 

His  widow,  Ann  Davis,  died  in  1701.  Her  will  is  dated  May 
5,  1699,  and  was  proved  April  1,  1701.  She  named  Robert 
Davis,  my  son  Joseph's  son,  daughter  Hannah  Dexter,  grand- 
child Sarah  Dexter,  son  Josiah's  wife,  and  daughters  Sarah  Young 
and  Mercy  Young.  The  fact  that  she  names  only  the  younger 
children,  indicates  that  she  was  the  second  wife  of  Robert 
Davis. 

1.     Robert   Davis  of  Yarmouth,    in  1643,  of    Barnstable  in 
1650  where  he  died  in   1693,  probably  married  twice.     His  last 
wife,  whom  he  probably  married  in  1657,  was  named  A  nn. 
Children  horn  in  Yarmouth. 
Deborah,  Jan.  1645. 
Mary,  April  28,  1648. 

Born  in  Barnstable. 
Andrew,  May,  1650. 
John,  March  "l,  1652. 
Robert,  Aug.  1654. 
Josiah,  Sept.  1656. 

Hannah,  Sept.  1658. 
.     Sarah,  Oct.  1660. 
Joseph. 
Mercy. 

1.  Deborah  Davis  married  Thos.  Geere  of  Enfield,  Conn., 
had  Shubael  who  has  descendants,  and  Elizabeth  born  May  4, 
1685,  who  died  under  three  years  of  age.     Thomas,  the  father, 

II  This  fact  is  probably  the  foundation  of  the  family  tradition,  that  Robert  Davis  boueht 
his  farm  of  the  Indians  for  a  brass  kettle.  The  recent  discoTery  of  the  gi-ave  of  lyanoueJj 
has  revived  the  old  story,  which  has  no  foundation  in  truth.  b     »«  "i  j.i'.uougu 


2. 

I.     ] 

3. 

II. 

4. 

,111. 

■5. 

IV. 

6. 

V. 

7. 

VI. 

8. 

VII. 

9. 

VIII 

10. 

IX. 

11. 

X. 

GENEALOGICAL    NOTES    OF    BAKNSTABLE    FAMILIES.         279 

died  14th  Jan.  1722,  aged  99  years,  and  his  wife  Deborah  in  1736, 
aged  91. 

2.  Mary,  married  a  Dexter,  whose  Christian  name  1  cannot 
find. 

3.  Andrew,  to  whom  £is  father  gave  five  shillings  in  his  will, 
removed  from  Barnstable,  perhaps  to  I^ew  London,  Conn. 

4.  John  Davis  is  not  named  in  his  father's  will  and  probably 
died  young. 

5.  Robert  Davis,  2d,  removed  from  Barnstable.  Mr. 
Deane,  in  his  history  of  Scituate,  says  that  "Tristram  Davis,  son 
of  Robert  of  Yarmouth,  born  in  1654,  was  in  Scituate  in  1695. 
He  married  Sarah  Archer  of  Braintree  1694."  Mr.  Savage  copies 
the  mistake  of  Deane.  Robert  Davis,  Senior,  had  no  son  Tristram. 
It  was  probably  Robert  that  Deane  intended  to  name. 

6.  Josiah  Davis'  house  is  named  in  the  laying  out  of  the 
County  road,  in  1686,  as  next  east  of  Samuel  Cobb's,  on  the  north 
side  of  the  way.  It  stood  a  few  feet  east  of  the  present  dwelling 
bouse  of  Lot  Easterbrooks,  and  was  taken  down  not  many  years 
ago.  In  his  will,  dated  21st  April,  1709,  and  proved  the  5th  of 
October  following,  he  names  his  nine  children,  all  of  whom  were 
then  living.  To  his  sons  John,  Josiah,  and  Seth,  he  gave  his 
dwelling  house,  the  land  he  bought  of  James  Gorham,  the  Com- 
mon Field  land,  given  him  by  his  father,  and  one-half  of  the 
orchard  lying  before  his  door,  on  the  south  side  of  the  road.  To 
his  sons  Jonathan  and  Stephen,  the  other  half  of  the  orchard, 
&c.  He  names  his  daughters  Hannah  Cobb,  and  Ruth,  Sarah  and 
Anna  unmarried.  The  legacies  to  his  daughters  he  ordered  to  be 
paid  out  of  the  £53  he  ventured  in  trading  at  sea,  £30  in  the 
hands  of  his  son  John,  and  £23  in  the  hands  of  Gersham  Cobb. 
His  estate  was  apprised  at  over  £500,  corn  being  then  worth  10 
shillings  a  bushel,  showing  that  there  had  been  some  depreciation 
in  the  currency  since  the  death  of  his  father.  In  the  division  of 
the  common  he  was  entitled  to  43  1-2  shares,  a  number  above  the 
average.  He  was  a  soldier  in  Capt.  John  Gorham's  company  in 
King  Phillip's  war  in  1675,  and  one  of  the  proprietors  of  Gorham- 
town. 

7.  Hannah  Davis  married  a  Dexter  whose  Christian  name 
does  not  appear  on  the  record.     She  had  a  daughter  Sarah. 

8.  Sarah  Davis  married,  28th  Oct.  1679,  Joseph  Young , of 
Eastham,  son  of  the  first  John  and  had  a  family. 

9.  Joseph  Davis  resided  in  Barnstable.  His  family  was 
one  of  the  most  respectable  in  town.  He  died,  say  the  Church 
Records,  Aug.  10,  1735,  aged  about  70  years,  and  his  widow 
Hannah  May  2,  1739,  aged  68. 

10.  Mercy  Davis  married  first  Nathaniel  Young,  brother  of 


280         GENKALOGIOAL   NOTES    OF   BARNSTABLE    FAMILIES. 

Joseph  above  named,  and    10th  June,  1708,  Nathaniel  Mayo,  of 
Eastham. 

(7-6)  Josiah  Davis,  son  of  Robert,  born  Sept.  1656,  married 
Ann,  daughter  of  Richard  Taylor,  (tailor)  of  Yarmouth,  June  25, 
1679,  and  had 

12.  I.     John,    2d   Sept.   1681,  married  M.  Dimmock  Aug.  13, 
1705. 

13.  II.     Hannah,  April,  1683,  married  Gersham  Cobb  Feb.  24, 
1702-3. 

14.  III.     Josiah,  Aug.  1687,  married  M.  Taylor  July  10,  1712. 

15.  IV.     Seth,  Oct.  1692,  married  Lydia  Davis  Aug.  6,  1727. 

16.  V.     Ruth,  Feb.   1694,   married   John   Scudder,  19th   May, 
1715. 

17.  VI.     Sarah,  Feb.    1696,  married  Elisha  Taylor  24th  Oct. 
1718. 

18.  VII.     Jonathan,  1698,  married  Susan  Allyn  April  24,  1735. 

19.  VIII.     Stephen,  12th  Dec.  1700,  married  Rebecca . 

20.  IX.     Anna,  5th  April  1702,  married  Theophilus  Witherell, 
1724. 

(10-9)     Joseph    Davis,    son   of    Robert,    married,    by    Mr. 
Thatcher,  March  1695,  to  Hannah,  daughter  of  James  Cobb. 
Children  born  in  Barnstable. 

21.  I.     Robert,  7th  March  1696-7  married  Jane  Annable,  Oct. 
8,  1719. 

22.  II.     Joseph,  23d  March,  1698-9. 

23.  III.     James,  30th  July,  1700,  married  Thankful    Hincldey 
Jan.  4,  1727-8. 

24.  IV.     Gersham,  5th  Sept.  1702,  married  three  wives. 

25.  V.     Hannah,  5th  March,  1705,   married  Samuel  Dimmock 
1724. 

26.  VI.     Mary,  5th  June  1707,  married  Matthias  Gorham  March 
1,  1730. 

27.  VII.     Lydia,    12th   Feb.    1709,  died  unmarried   Dec.    30, 
1763. 

28.  VIII.     Daniel,  28th  Sept.  1713,  married  twice. 

(12-1)  John  Davis,  Esq.,  son  of  Josiah,  born  in  Barnstable 
2d  Sept.  1681,  married,  Aug.  13,  1705,  Mehitable,  daughter  of 
Sbubnrd  Dimmock.  Her  father  resided  for  a  time  in  Yarmouth, 
and  she  was  a  member  of  the  Yarmouth  Church,  and  was  dis- 
missed to  the  East  Church  in  Barnstable  Feb.  12,  1725-6.  She 
died  May  1775,  aged  89.  She  was  blind  several  years  previous 
to  her  death.  John  Davis,  Esq.,  was  a  captain,  a  justice  of  the 
peace,  &c.,  and  was  a  man  of  note  in  his  day.  He  died  29  — — , 
1736,  aged  58,  leaving  a  good  estate.  He  bought  a  part  of  the 
great  lot  of  Mr.  Thomas  Lumbard,  and  the  house  which  he  built 
thereon  is  now  standing,  and  is  now  owned  by  the  successors  of 


,30. 

II. 

31. 

III. 

32. 

IV. 

33. 

V. 

34. 

VI. 

35. 

VII, 

Feb. 

36. 

VII] 

37. 

IX. 

38. 

X. 

39. 

XI. 

GENEALOGICAL    NOTES    OF    BARNSTABLE    FAMILIES.         281 

the  late  Eleazer  Cobb,  Sen'r,  and  George  L.  Gorham. 
His  OMldren  born  in  Barnstable,  were  : 
29.     I.     Thomas,  Oct.  1,  1706,  married  Susan  Sturgess  Nov.  17, 
1726. 

John,  Sept.  8,  1708,  married  twice. 
Solomon,  April  5,  1711,  died  July  18,  1712. 
William,  April  10,  1713,  died  July  4,  1713. 
Solomon,  June  24,  171.5,  married  twice. 

Mehitable,  Aug.  10,  1717,  married  four  times. 
.     William,  Aug.    24,    1719,  married   Martha   Crocker 
.  2,  1745. 

I.     Josiah,  Feb.  17,  1722. 
Isaac,  ^      died  Oct.  28,  1724. 
>-  twins,  Aug,  3,  1724. , 
Jesse,      )      died  Aug.  13,  1724. 
Isaac,  March  1,  1727,  died  Nov.  2.,  1727. 
(14-3)  Josiah  Davis,  son  of  Josiah,  married,  July  10,  1712, 
Meliitable,  daughter  of  Edward  Taylor  of  West  Barnstable. 

Children  born  in  Barnstable. 
Edward,  19th  June,  1713. 

Mary,  8th  Aug.  1714. 
.     Josiah,  2d  Aug.  1718. 

A  Josiah  Davis  resided  in  the  high  single  house  next  west  of 
Capt.  Jonathan  Davis'  afterwards  bought  by  James  Davis,  and 
now  owned  by  his  descendants. 

(15-4)  Seth  Davis,  son  of  Josiah,  was  of  Barnstable  in  1728. 
Aug.  6,  1727,  Lydia  Davis  was  admitted  to  the  East  Church. 
Aug.  4,  1728,  Lucy,  daughter  of  Seth  and  Lydia  Davis,  was 
baptized.  The  name  then  disappears  on  the  Church  records. 
Sept.  29,  1755,  a  Seth  Davis  married  Sarah  Sturgis.  I  thinii 
Cornelius  Davis  was  his  son.  He  owned  Josiah  Davis'  house, 
who  was  probably  his  grandfather. 

(18-7)  Capt.  Jonathan  Davis,  son  of  Josiah,  resided  in 
Barnstable.     He  was  a  sea  captain.     His  first  wife  was  Elizabeth 

.     She   died   Sept.    14,    1733,    aged    32.     He   married, 

April  24,  1735,  Susannah  Allyn.  She  died  Aug.  14,  1751,  aged 
36.  According  to  the  Church  records  he  died, Dec.  2,  1782,  aged 
83.  His  grave  stones  in  the  burying  ground  near  the  Unitarian 
Meeting  House,  say  Jan.  4,  1784,  in  the  82d  year  of  his  age. 
His  will  was  proved  Jan.  1788.  He  names  Wm.  Belford  and 
daughter  Ann,  to  whom  he  gives  all  his  estate,  and  i^s  daughter 
Elizabeth.  Neither  correspond  with  the  record  of  his  birth.  His 
house  stood  on  the  north  side  of  the  road,  between  the  houses  of 
Samuel  Cobb  and  Josiah  Davis.  His  daughters  Ann  and  Eliza- 
beth were  his  only  cliildren  living  at  the  time  of  his  death.  Ann 
taught  a  school  several  years.     She  married  John  Belford,  one  of 


40. 

I. 

41. 

II. 

42. 

Ill 

282         GENEALOGICAL    NOTES    OF    BARNSTABLE    FAMILIES. 

the  Scotch  Irish,  (see  Delap)  and  had  Susy  Davis  baptized  Oct. 
11,  1772;  Edward,  baptized  .Jan.  1,  1770,  died  young;  Edward 
again,  baptized  Oct.  1778;  and  Davis,  June  18,  1781.  The 
descendants  write  their  name  Ford. 

His   children  born  in  Barnstable,  and  baptized  at  the  East 
Church,  were :  ? 

43.  I.     Elizabeth,  baptized  Nov.  9,  1729,  died  young. 

44.  II.     Elizabetii,  baptized  Oct.  24,  1736,  died  young. 

45.  III.     Susannah,  born  July  29,  1738. 

46.  IV.     Elizabeth,    baptized   Oct.    4,  1741,  married  

Hamlin. 

47.  V.     Anna,  baptized  May  1,  1743,  married  Wm.  Belford. 

48.  VI.     Jonathan,  baptized  June  14,  1747,  died  young. 
(19-8)  Stephen  Davis,  called  Stephen  Jr.,  to  distinguish  him 

from  Stephen,  son  of  Dolar,  who  was  ten  years  his  senior,  was 
son  of  Josiah,  born  in  Barnstable  Dec.  12,  1700.  He  bought  the 
ancient  John  Scudder  house  of  his  brother-in-law,  John  Scudder, 
Jr.,  and  six  acres  of  land,  a  part  of  Rev.  Mr.  Lothrop's  great 
lot.  The  old  house  was  taken  downiJ^1803,  by  his  son  Jonathan, 
and  the  dwelling  house  of  the  late  George  Davis  stands  on  the 

same  spot.     He  married,  in   1723,  Rebecca ,  and'  had  a- 

large  family,  the  record  of  which  on  the  town  books  is  imperfect, 
and  the  deficiencies  are  supplied  from  the  Church  records.  He 
joined  the  East  Church,  and  was  baptized  March  21,  1773,  at  the 
age  of  72.  He  died  Jan.  4,  1782,  aged  81,  and  his  wife  Rebecca 
Nov.  28,  1769,  aged  60.  Both  have  monuments  in  the  grave  yard 
near  the  Unitarian  Meeting  House. 

Children  born  in  Barnstable. 

49.  I.     Prince,  Nov.    17,   1724,  married  Sarah  Coleman,  Feb. 
15,  1750. 

50.  II.     Ann,  Dec.  13,  1726,  married  Benjamin  Cobb,  May  17, 
1749. 

51.  III.     Isaac,  Sept.  14,  1729,  married  Hannah  Davis,  Jan.  16, 
1752. 

52.  IV.     Rebecca,  Feb.  26,  1731,  married  Benjamin  Childs,  Jr., 
Nov.  6,  1751. 

53.  V.     Susannah,  May  14,  1734,  married  Solomon  Otis,  Jr. 

54.  VI.     Sarah,  Jan.   20,   1737,  married  Jonathan  Bacon,  Jr., 

May  13,  1755. 

55.  VII.     Stephen,  baptized  Aug.  17,  1740. 

56.  VIII.     Abigail,  baptized  May  15,  1743. 

57.  IX.     Thankful,    baptized   Oct.  26,   1746,  married   Samuel 
Smith.* 

58.  X.     Jonathan,  baptized   Oct.   1,    1749,  married   Susannah 
Lewis. 

(21-1)  Dea.  Robert  Davis,  son  of   Joseph,  resided  in  Barn- 
stable,  and    lived   where    the    late   Nath'l   Holmes's    house    now 


GENEALOGICAL    NOTES    OF    BARNSTABLE    FAMILIES.         283 

stands.  He  had  a  Cooper's  Shop,  and  was  a  part  of  his  life 
captain  of  the  Barnstable  and  Boston  packet.  He  was  much 
employed  in  town  affairs  and  was  often  one  of  the  selectmen. 
He  was  a  man  of  sound  judgment,  and  held  in  esteem  by  all  who 
knew  him.  He  married,  Oct.  8,  1719,  Jane  Annable.  He  has  no 
children  recorded  on  the  town  or  church  records.  He  died  June 
1,  1765,  aged  69,  and  his  wife  Jane  Nov.  27,  1766,  aged  66. 
In  his  will  he  devises  his  estate  to  James,  son  of  his  brother 
Gersham  Davis. 

(22-2)  Joseph  Davis,  son  of  Josiah,  I  persume,  died  young 
— I  find  no  notice  of  him  on  the  records. 

(23-3)  James  Davis,  son  of  Joseph,  married,  Jan.  4,  1727-8, 
Thankful,  daughter  of  Joseph  Hinckley  of  West  Barnstable.  She 
died  Aug.  20,  174.5,  aged  38,  and  her  ^husband  about  the  same 
time,  leaving  a  family  of  seven  children,  who  were  brought  up 
by  their  grandfather  Hinckley. 

Children  horn  in  Barnstable. 

59       I.     Hannah,  baptized  July  4,  1729,  died  young. 

60.  II.     Hannah,  May  31,  1731,  married  twice. 

61.  III.     Joseph,  Aug.  15,  1733,  married  twice. 

62.  IV.     Benjamin,  June  27,  1635,  married  Patience  Bacon,  May 
19,  1757. 

63.  V.     Eunice,  Aug.  8,  1737,  married Jones  of   Hing- 

ham. 

64.  VI.     Thankful,   Nov.  7,   1739,  married  Joseph  Palmer   of 
Falmouth,  Dec.  6,  1765. 

65.  VII.     James,  March  6,  1741,  married  Reliance  Cobb. 

66.  Vin.     David,  Jan.  4,  1743. 

67.  IX.     Barnabas,  died  young. 

(24-4)  Dea.  Gersham  Davis,  son  of  Joseph,  born  in  Barn- 
stable 5th  Sept.  1702,  was  a  farmer,  and  was  a  man  of  good 
standing.  His  house  stood  where  Capt.  Pierce's  house  now  stands, 
at  the  north-west  corner  of  the  great  lot  laid  out  to  Thomas  Lum- 
bard.  He  married  thrice.  First,  Feb.  24, 1725-6,  Elizabeth  Sturgis, 
daughter  of  Samuel,  she  died  June  6, 1727,  aged  21.  He  married 
2d  Mary,  daughter  of  Joseph  Hinckley  of  West  Barnstable, 
Sept.  23,  1731.  He  married  for  his  third  wife,  in  1757,  Thankful 
Skiff  of  Sandwich.  He  died  May  6,  1790,  in  the  88th  year  of  his 
age. 

Children  horn  in  Barnstable. 

68.  I.     James,   June   2,    1727,    married   Jean   Bacon,  Oct.    3, 
1745. 

69.  II.     Eobert,  July  12,  1732,  and  died  soon. 

70.  III.     Samuel,   Sept.  13,  1734,  married  Mary  Gorham,  Jr., 
Dec.  22,  1757. 


284         GENEALOGICAL    NOTES    OF    BARNSTABLE    FAMILIES. 

71.  IV.     Elizabeth,  Aug.   12,   1736,  married   Josepli  Crocker, 
Jr.,  Jan.  12,  1758. 

72.  V.     Mary,  Dec.  5,  1740. 

73.  VI.     Abigail,  July  12,  1744,  died  voung. 

74.  VII.     Abigail,  July  12,  1746. 

75.  VIII.     Mercy,  Feb.  4,  1748,  died  young. 

(28-8)  Hon  Daniel  Davis,  son  of  Joseph,  born  in  Barnstable 
28th  Sept.  1713,  was  Judge  of  Probate,  and  held  other  offices  of 
trust  and  responsibility.  He  resided  in  the  house  afterwards 
occupied  by  his  son  Dr.  John  Davis  and  now  owned  by  Daniel  Cobb, 
a  descendant  in  the  female  line.  He  was  an  active  man,  and  an 
ardent  patriot  during  the  Revolution.  He  often  represented  the 
town  in  the  General  Court,  was  on  committees,  and  performed 
much  labor.  As  I  have  hjid  occasion  to  remark  in  a  former  arti- 
cle, at  the  commencemeBt  of  the  Revolutionary  struggle,  he  was 
inclined  to  take  sides  with  the  radical  portion  of  the  whigs  ;  but 
was  afterwards  more  conservative  in  his  views.  Barnstable  had 
not  a  more  devoted  patriot  than  Daniel  Davis.  He  married 
Mehitable, '  daughter  of  Thomas  Lothrop.  The  land  on  which 
Daniel  Davis  built  his  house,  was  a  part  of  the  original  allotment 
to  Joseph  Lothrop,  the  father  of  Thomas.  He  married  for  his 
second  wife,  July  7,  Mehitable  Sturgis,  noticed  below.  Hon. 
Daniel  Davis  died  22d  April,  1799,  aged  85  years,  6  months,  and 
13  days. 

CMldren  horn  in  Barnstable. 

76.  I.     Mary,  Axjril  29,  1740. 

77.  II.     Daniel,  Oct.  10,  1741. 

78.  III.     Robert,  March  27,  1743. 

79.  IV.     John,  Oct.  7,  1744. 

80.  V.     Deborah,  Aug.  13,  1746,  married,  Oct.  6,  1765,  Josiah 
Crocker. 

81.  VI.     Thomas,  Aug.  24,  1748. 

82.  VII.     Desire,  March  27,  1750,  married  Freeman  Parker. 

83.  VIII.     Ansel,  March  13,  1752. 

84.  IX.     Experience,  July  11,  1754,  married  Joseph  Annable. 

85.  X.     Mehitable,  July  11,  1756. 

86.  XI.     Lothrop,  lost  at  sea,  no  issue. 

87.  XII.     Daniel,  May  8,  1762. 

(29-1)  Thomas  Davis,  son  of  Capt.  John,  born  Oct.  1,  1706, 
married  Nov.  17,  1726,  Susannah  Sturgis,  daughter  of  Edward. 
He  had  a  daughter  Susy  baptized  in  the  East  Church  April  17, 
1737.  He  died  April  9,  1738,  and  his  widow  married,  Aug.  12, 
1739,  Mr.  Elisha  Gray  of  Harwich. 

(30-2)  John  Davis,  son  of  Capt.  John,  born  Sept.  8,  1708, 
married,  Feb.  5,  1720-30,  Abigail  Otis,.and  second  Anna  Allen, 
March  23,  1736.  He  had  sons.  Josiah  and  John,  and  daughter 
Martha,  baptized  in  the  East  Church  April  25,  1742. 


GENEALOGICAL    NOTES    OF    BARNSTABLE    FAMILIES.        ^^85 

(33-6)  Solomon,  son  of  Capt.  John,  born  June  24,  1715,  was 
a  merchant  and  resided  in  Boston.  During  the  siege  he  removed 
his  family  to  Barnstable.  He  was  an  intimate  friend  of  Gov. 
Hancock.  In  1791  he  was  dining  with  his  Excellency  in  company 
with  some  of  the  rare  wits  of  the  day,  John  Kowe,  Joseph  Balch, 
and  others,  Mr.  Davis  made  some  witty  remark,  which  induced 
Mr.  Balch  to  say  to  him,  "Well,  Davis,  you  had  better  go  home 
now  and  die,  for  you  will  never  say  as  good  a  thing  as  that  again." 
On  his  way  home  he  was  taken  suddenly  ill,  and  sat  down  on  the  . 
steps  of  King's  Chapel,  from  whence  he  was  removed  to  his  hduse 
in  the  vicinity,  where  he  shortly  after  died. 

Solomon  Davis  married  Jan.  29,  175X),  Elizabeth  Wendell  of 
Portsmouth,  N.  H.  She  died  at  Plymouth  Feb.  20,  1777,  aged 
about  47.  She  was  the  mother  of  all  his  children.  He  married, 
Nov.  18,  1777,  her  sister  Catharine  Wendell,. who  died  April  7, 
1808,  aged  66.     He  died  June  6,  1791,  aged  76. , 

His  children  were :  1,  John,  born  May  19,  1753  ;  2,  Solomon, 
Sept.  25, 1754,  died  at  sea  Sept.  1789  ;  3,  Edward,  Dec.  18,  1765, 
died  at  sea  Nov.  11,  1708  ;  4,  Thomas,  July  26,  1757,  died  at 
Falmouth,  Eng.,  Oct.  10,  1775  ;  5,  Elizabeth,  Oct.  14,  1758,  died 
Aug.  14, 1833.  (She  married  Dr.  David  Townsend  May  24, 178o, 
^d  was  the  mother  of  Dr.  Solomon  Davis  Townsend  of  Boston.) 
6,  Mehitable,  July  14,  1760,  died  Oct.  28,  1761  ;  7,  Henry,  Oct. 
8,  1761,  died  March  15,  1762;  8,  Josiah,  Sept.  S4,  1763,  died 
June  29,  1777,  buried  at  Barnstable;  9,  Isaac,  April  2,1765, 
married  Elizabeth  Fellows,  died  Dec.  5, 1800,  at  Hartford,  Conn, ; 
10,  William,  April  26,  1768,  married  Martha  Harris,  he  died  Sept. 
14,  1804,  at  Dorchester.  Solomon  Davis  has  descendants  living 
in  Boston,  and  other  places,  Gustavus  F.  Davis  president  of  the 
City  Bank,  Hartford,  Conn.,  is  a  descendant  of  Isaac  Davis  of 
Boston  and  many  others  of  note. 

Dr  Solomon  Davis  Townsend  of  Boston,  son  of  Elizabetii 
Davis,  born  March  1,  1793,  married  his  cousin,  a  daughter  of 
Edward  Davis,  and  is  now  three  score  years  and  ten.  He  was 
consulting  surgeon  to  the  Massachusetts  General  Hospital  fronl 
1835  to  1839,  and  Acting  Surgeon  frdm  1839. to  1863,  when  be 
tendered  his  resignation  of  the  place  he  had  so  long  and  honorably 
filled.  In  the  resolutions  adopted  by  the  Trustees  of  the  Hospital, 
they  expressed  their  high  appreciation  of  his  long,  faithful  and 
valuable, services,  of  his  generous  devotion  to  the  interest  of  that 
institution,  of  his  professional  skill,  of  his  ability,  sound  judg- 
ment, assiduity  and  kindness,  and  his  consistent  and  gentlemanly 
conduct. 

(34-6)  Mehitable  Davis,  daughter  of  Capt.  John,  born  in 
Barnstable  Aug..  10,  1717,  was  a  remarkable  woman,  and  deserv- 
ing of  especial  note.  She  married  four  husbands,  all  men  of 
character,  influence  and  respectability,  namely  : 


286        UENEALOGICAL    KOTKS    OF    BAKNSTAB1,K    FAMILIES. 

At  23  she  married,  April  9,  1741,  Dr.  James  Hersey,  a  native 
of  Hingham,  a  man  of  learning  and  skillful  in  his  profession.  By 
him  she  had  a  son  Ezekiel,  born  Jan.  14,  1741-2.  He  died  July 
22,  1741,  aged  26.  His  first  wife  was.Lydia  Gorham,  whom  he 
married  July  27,  1737.  She  had  a  son  James,  bom  Nov.  9, 1738, 
and  she  died  Nov.  9,  1740.  Dr.  James  Hersey  owned  that  por- 
tion of  the  Dimmoek  farm  on  which  the  fortification  house  stood, 
and  whether  he  resided  in  that,  or  in  a  house  that  formerly  stood 
a  little  west  of  the  present  residence  of  Asa  Young,  Esq.,  1  cannot 
say.  Dr.  James  was  succeeded  in  his  practice  by  his  brother,  Dr. 
Abner  Hersey,  a  curious  compound  of  good  sense  and  eccen- 
tricity. 

2d,  at  26,  she  married,  Oct.  21,  1744,  John  Russell,  son  of 
Dr.  John  of  Barnstable.  By  him  she  had  one  son  John,  whose 
birth  is  not  recorded.  The  father  died  Aug.  1,  1748,  aged  24. 
The  son  was  baptized  Sept.  4,  1748,  on  the  day  his  widowed 
mother  was  admitted  to  the  East  Church.  He  was  captain  of  the 
marines  on  board  the  ill  fated  private  armed  ship  Gen.  Arnold, 
Capt.  James  Magee,  lost  in  Plymouth  Harbor  Dec.  26,  1778,  when 
nearly  all  on  board  perished.  Though  a  strong,  robust  man,  he 
was  one  of  the  first  who  perished.  On  his.  monument  in  Plymouth 
church  vard  it  is  stated  that'he  was  then  31,  if  &o,  he  was  born 
in  1747.' 

3d,  at  37,  on  the  9th  of  May,  1754,  she  became  the  second 
wife  of  John  Sturgis,  Esq.,  of  Barnstable.  By  him  she  had  Sarah, 
whose  birth  is  recorded  with  sufBcient  particularity,  namely  :  at 
"3  1-2  o'clock  A.  M.,  Thursday,  April  17,  1755,  and  baptized  on 
the  Sunday  following;"  and  John  baptized  March  19,  1758. 
John  Sturgis,  Esq.,  died  Aug.  10,  1759,  aged  56. 

4th,  at  44,  she  married,  July  7,  1761,  her  relative,  Hon. 
Daniel  Davis,  and  again  assumed  her  maiden  name.  By  him  she 
had  one  son,  Daniel,  born  May  8,  1762. 

Her  daughter  Sarah  married  the  late  Mr.  Isaiah  Parker  of 
West  Barnstable,  had  a  family  and  lived  to  be  aged.  John  was  a 
graduate  of  Harvard  College,  and  died  early.  Her  son  Daniel 
was  Solieiter  General,  and  a  distinguished  man.  She  survived  all 
her  husbands,  but  at  last  "the  woman  died  also,"  namely  :  on  the 
aged  87  years. 

Her  son,  Hon.  Daniel  Davis,  married-Lois  Freeman,  daughter 
of  Constant  Freeman,  and  sister  of  the  Rev.  James  Freeman  of 
the  Stone  Chapel,  Boston,  and  had  a  large  family.  Louisa,  the 
eldest  daughter,  married  William  Minot,  Esq.,  of  Boston.  Rear 
Admiral  Charles  Henry  Davis,  of  the  U.  S.  Navy,  is  his  youngest 
son. 

(35-7)  Capt.  William  Davis  owned  the  house  and  estate 
which  was  his  father's.  He  was  a  sea  captain,  and  died  in  1759, 
aged  forty  years. 


GENEALOGICAL    NOTES    OF    BAKN8TABLE    FAMILIES.        267 

He  married  Feb.  2,  1745,  Martha,  daughter  of  Timothy 
Crocker,  Esq.,  of  Barnstable.     She  died  Dec.  2,  1772,  aged  67. 

Children  horn  in  Barnstable. 

1,  Mehitable,  March  4,  1746,  married  Benjamin  Gorham,  Jr., 
(called  Young  Fiddler)  a.  man  of  more  wit  than  sound  judgment ; 
2,  William,  born  Jan.  18,  1748,  was  clerk  in  the  store  of  his  uncle 
Solomon  in  Boston,  and  died  unmarried  at  the  age  of  24,  of 
yellow  fever;  3,  Catharine,  born  April  29,  1761,  married  Stephen 
Hall  of  Sandwich;  4,  Elizabeth,  born  April  13,  1755,  married 
Eleazer  Cobb,  Sen'r,  and  inherited  half  of  her  father's  house 
where  she  resided;  5,  Martha,  born  Aug.  19,  1758,  (she  was 
always  called  Patty)  married  John  Cobb,  who  bought  the 
Nathaniel  Bacon,  Jr.,  house,  and  had  a  family.  Mrs.  Hetty 
Davis  Hallett,  widow  of  Andrews,  is  her  daughter ;  6,  Ruth,  born 
Jan.  24,  1763,  married  Capt.  Thomas  Gray  of  Yarmouth;  7, 
Jesse,  who  died  aged  2  years. 

(36-8)  Josiah  Davis,  son  of  Capt.  John,  born  Feb.  19,  1722. 
Of  this  Josiah  Davis  I  have  no  certain  information. 

(40-1)  Ebenezer,  son  of  the  2d  Josiah,  born  19th  June,  1713. 
Of  Ebenezer  I  have  no  certain  intelligence.  I  think  he  removed 
to  Maine. 

(42'-3)  Josiah  Davis,  son  of  2d  Josiah,  born  Aug.  2,  1718, 
married,  in  1745,  Thankful  Matthews  ;  and  May  3, 1760,  Thankful 
Gorham.  He  resided  in  the  house  which  was  his  father's,  and  sold 
the  same,  on  his  removal  to  Gorham,  to  the  late  Mr.  James 
Davis.  He  had  Josiah  and  Thankful  baptized  June  6,  1756; 
Mary,  Sept.  3,  1759  ;  Josiah,  Oct.  11,  1761,  and  three  children 
born  in  Gorham,  in  1773,  1776  and  1780.  . 

(49-1)  Prince  Davis,  son  of  Stephen,  Jr.,  born  Nov.  17, 
1724,  was  a  house  carpenter.  He  resided  in  Barnstable  till  1760,  , 
when  he  removed  to  Gorham,  Maine,  of  which  town  he  was  a 
proprietor  in  the  right  of  his  grandfather  Josiah,  who  was  a 
soldier  in  the  Company  of  Capt.  John  Gorham  in  King  Phillip's 
war  in  1675.  Mr.  Prince  Davis  early  joined  the  East  Church  in 
Bai'nstable,  and  continued  to  be  a  church  member  after  his  removal 
east.  At  Gorham  his  name  appears  as  one  of  the  selectmen,  and 
in  church  affairs  he  was  a  prominent  man.  He  was  married  by 
Rev.  Mr.  Green,  Feb.  17,  1749-50,  to  Sarah  Coleman,  daughter  of 
James,  of  Barnstable.  The  births  of  his  children  are  not  on  the 
town  records.  He  died  in  Gorham  in  1809,  aged  85  years,  and 
his  wife  in  1804.  He  had  five .  children  born  in  Barnstable,  four 
baptized  Oct.  9,  1757,  namely,  Elijah^  Edward,  Prudence  and 
Alice,  and  Temperance  baptized  Nov.  18,  1759  ;  and  five  born  in 
Gorham,  namely,  Isaac,  March  27,  1762';  David,  Oct.  20,  1764; 
Rebecca,  July  15,  1766;  Thomas,  May  14,  1768;  and  Jonathan 
.  Jnlv  10,  1770. 


288         GENRALOGIOAL    NOTES    OF    BARNSTABLE    FAMILIES. 

Elijah  married  Pbebe  Hopkins  April  8,  1780;  Prudence 
married  Josiah  Jenkins  June  15,  1776,  and  died  1836;  Alice 
married  Enoch  Frost  April  22,  1779,  and  died  1802  ;  Temperance 
married  Da\'id  Harding  June  23,  1781,  and  died  1810  ;  Isaac  did 
not  marry,  died  in  1738;  David  married  Martha  Watson  March 
17,1788;  Rebecca  married  Geo.  Knight  March  14,  1789,  died 
June  18,  1836';  Thomas  did  not  marry  ;  Jonathan  married  Mary 
April  10,  1796.* 

(51-3)  Isaac  Davis,  son  of  Stephen,  Jr.,  born  Sept.  14, 
1729,  married  Hannah  Davis,  daughter  of  James.  His  house 
was  on  the  north-easterly  part  of  Thomas  Lumbert's  great  lot,  on 
the  south  side  of  the  road,  opposite  his  grand-father's  house.  He 
had  a  son,  and  a  daughter  Rebecca  baptized' Aug.  3,  1755,  and 
another  daughter  of  the  same  name  baptized  Jan.  15,  1768,  and  a 
son  Isaac  born  Dec.  3, 1764.  The  latter  married  Abigail  Gorham, 
and  had  Stephen  G.,  Cashier  of  the  Shawmut  Bank,  Boston, 
Frederick  of  Falmouth,  and  others.  The  widow  Hannah,  of  the 
first  Isaac,  married,  June  17,  1783,  Col.  David  .Gorham,  she  died 
Oct.  3,  1810,  aged  79  yrs.  and  3  mos. 

(58-10)  Jonathan  Davis,  son  of  Stephen,  Jr.,  born  in  Barn- 
stable, baptized  Oct.  1,  1749,  married  Susannah  Lewis,  born  the 
same  day,  Sept.  27,  1749,  or  rather  within  a  few  hours  of  each 
other.  He  went  to  sea  in  early  life,  and  was  in  after  life  a 
farmer.  He  had  sons  Stephen,  Solomon,  and  George,  and  a 
daughter  Susannah  yet  living.  Stephenwas  a  carpenter,  removed 
to  Falmouth,  and  lived  to  be  aged,  and  has  descendants  there. 
Solomon  was  a  carpenter,  died  a  young  man,  and  has  descendants 
in  Dennis.  George  was  a  shoemaker,  and  resided  on  the  paternal 
estete,  and  died  Nov.  6,  1847,  aged  68,  leaving  one  son,  the  pre- 
sent Mr.  Isaac  Davis.  He  being  now  the  sole  representative  on 
the  voting  list  of  Barnstable,  of  the  many  Davis  families  of  that 
town.  Mr.  Jonathan  Davis  died  Sept.  22,  1840,  aged  90.  She 
died  Sept.  25,  1841,  aged  91  years. 

(61-3)  Joseph  Davis,  son  of  James,  born  Aug.  16,  1733,  was 
a  tanner  and  currier  and  resided  in  a  house  that  stood  near  where 
the  first  Robert's  stood.  He  married  first  Lucretia  Thatcher  Nov. 
17,  1763,  and  bad  Phebe,  Rebecca,  who  married  Job  Gorham, 
Elisha  Thatcher,  Mary,  Lucretia,  Joseph  and  Benjamin.  By  his 
second  wife,  Mary  Bacon,  John,  Lucretia  and  Abner. 

John,  (father  of  Joseph  and  Barnabas  of  Boston)  built  a 
house  near  where  the  first  Josiah  Davis  house  stood.  Abner 
(father  of  Adolphus  and  James  W.,  of  Boston,)  inherited  the 
paternal  mansion.  He  was  a  lawyer,  and  Clerk  of  the  Courts. 
Elisha  Thacher  was  a  tanner  and  shoe  maker,  died  a  young  man, 

*  Manuscript  letter  of  .Josiah  Pierce,  Esq.,  author  of  her  history,  of  Gorham,  Maine. 
The  climate  of  Maine  seems  to  agree  with  the  Davis  fanjily.  Prince  has  more  descendants 
than  his  nine  brothers  and  sisters. 


GENEALOGICAL    NOTES    OF    BARNSTABLE    FAMILIES.         289 

leaving  a  large  family  of  young  children.  His  widow  lived  to 
great  age. 

(62-4)  Benjamin  Davis,  son  of  James,  married,  May  19, 
1754,  Patience  Bacon. 

(66-7)  James  Davis,  son  of  James,  married  Reliance  Cobb. 
He  had  James,  David,  and  others.  James  removed  to  Boston,  was 
a  brass  founder,  acquired  a  large  estate,  and  died  very  suddenly  in 
1862,  aged  84. 

(68-1)  James  Davis,  son  of  Dea.  Gersham,  married,  Oct.  3, 
1745,  Jean  Bacon.  His  uncle,  Dea.  Robert  Davis,  made  him  his 
heir.  His  children  were:  1,  Elizabeth,  July  2,  1746  ;  2,  Elizabeth 
again,  March  25,  1748;  3,  Jean,  April  24,  1760;  4,  Patience, 
June  13,'  1752;  5,  Desire,  Oct.  22,  1754;  6,  Joseph,  Sept.  19, 
1757;  7,  Robert,  June  30,  1760;  8,  Hannah,  Dec.  19,  1762;  9, 
James,  Jan.  19,  1767  ;  baptized  May  5,  1765  ;  and  Desire  baptized 
Sept.  20,  1772. 

C70-3)  Samuel  Davis,  son  of  Dea.  Gersham,  married,  Dec. 
23,  1759,  Mary  Gorham,  Jr.,  and  had  Ebeuezer  baptized  July  6, 
1760 ;,  Samuel,  July  4,  1762;  Mary,  Sept.  25,  1763;  Ebenezer, 
Feb.  17,  1765;  Prince,  May  17,  1767;  William,  June  9,  1771. 
This  familv  removed  to  Gorham,  where  they  had  Elizabeth  April 
14,  1777.  " 

(79-4)  Hon.  John  Davis,  son  of  Daniel,  born  Oct.  7,  1744. 
He  practiced  medicine  many  years,  was  Judge  of  Probate,  and  held 
many  responsible  offices.  He  was  a  mild,  pleasant  man,  not  inherit- 
ing the  energy  of  character  for  which  his  father  was  distinguished. 
He  resided  in  the  early  part  of  his  life  in  the  house  now  standing 
that  was  Col.  Davis  Gorham's.  -After  the  decease  of  his  father  he 
removed  to  the  paternal  mansion,  where  he  continued  to  reside  till 
his  death.  He  was  afflicted  with  cancer  on  the  nose  which  nearly 
destroyed  that  organ.  He  had  a  large  family.  The  late  Hon.  Job 
C.  Davis  was  his  son,  who  married  Desire  Loring  daughter  of  Otis 
Loring — had  12  children. 


In  1643,  five  of  the  name  of  Davis  were  "able  to  bear  arms"  in 
Barnstable,  viz  :  Dolar  or  Dollard  and  his  sons  John,  Nicholas. 
Simon,  and  Samuel,;  and  in  Yarmouth,  Robert  Davis,  afterwards  of 
Barnstable.  Dr.  Palfrey  informed  Mr.  Savage  that  the  graves  of  the 
ancestors  of  Dolar  Davis  were  at  Bennefield,  Northamptonshire, 
and  that  was  probably  his  native  town.  -He  married  as  early  as 
1618,  Margery,  daughter  of  Richard  Willard,  of  Horsmonden,  in 
the  Counl^  of  Kent,  where  all  his  sons  were  born,  and  perhaps  his 
daughter  Mary.  He  came  over  in  1634,  in  company  with  his 
brother-in-law,  Major  Simon  Willard,  a  man  of  note  in  the  history 
of  the  Massachusetts  Colony.  He  stopped  first  at  Cambridge,  a  nd 
in  1635  was  one  of  the  first  settlers,  and  had  a  house  lot  on  Water 
street.     He  sold  his  lands  in  Cambridge  in  1636,  and  removed.     He 


290        GENEALOGICAL    NOTES    OF    BAKNSTABLE    FAMILIES. 

was  also  one  of  the  proprietors  of  the  lands  in  Concord.  In  1638 
he  was  of  Duxbury.  April  6,  1640,  lands  and  meadows  were  granted 
to  hina  and  others,  at  North  Hill,  in  that  town,  and  on  the  31st  of 
August  following,  he  had  granted  to  him  fifty  acres  of  upland,  and  a 
proportion  of  meadows  on  the  Namassaeuset  river.  May,  1641,  he 
was  bondsman  for  George  Willard  of  Scituate,  and  is  called  of 
that  town. 

August,  1643,  he  and  his  sons  were  included  among  those  able 
to  bear  arms  in  Barnstable.  He  probably  came  to  Barnstable  in 
1639  with  the  first  settlers,  though  he  did  not  make  it  the  place  of 
his  permanent  residence  until  1642  or  3.  He  was  a  carpenter,  and 
a  raa.ster  builder  ;  his  son  John  was  also  a  carpenter,  and  his  sons 
Nicholas,  Simon,  and  Samuel,  probably  assisted  their  father.  This 
fact  furnishes  an  explanation  of  his  frequent  removals  from  place  to 
place.  In  the  new  settlements  he  found  more  employment  than  in  the 
older.  It  did  not,  however,  require  much  time  to  construct  the 
rude  dwellings  of  our  ance.stors.  In  1643  William  Chase  built  the 
house  of  Andrew  Hallett,  Jr.,  finding  all  the  materials,  and  delivered 
it  "latched,  thatched  and  daubed"  for  the  sum  of  £5.  Some  of  the 
first  settlers  put  up  substantial  frame  houses,  like  that  of  Nathaniel 
Bacon,  which  has  been  described  ;  but  generally  they  were  as  rudely 
and  as  cheaply  constructed  as  Andrew  Hallett,  Jr's.  The  chimneys 
were  of  rough  stone,  and  above  tlie  mantel  piece,  which  was  always 
of  wood,  they  were  often  only  cob-walls,  that  is 'built  with  small 
sticks  and  clay.  The  roofs  were  thatched,  and  oiled  paper  was 
often  a  substitute  for  glass.  They  were  not  plastered — the  cracks 
were  "daubed,"  that  is  filled  up  with  clay  or  mortar.  The  hardware 
and  nails  required,  were  furnished  by  the  blacksmith.  Saw  mills 
had  been  built  at  Scituate,  and  the  lumber  for  the  best  houses  came 
from  that  town  ;  but  at  first  the  boards  required  were  sawed  by  hand, 
or  hewn  from  split  logs. 

Houses  of  this  description,  having  only  one  large  room  on  the 
lower  floor,  whether  one  or  one-half  stories  high,  were  quickly  and 
cheaply  built. 

Neither  Dolar  Davis  or  his  sons  were  anfibitious  of  political 
distinction.  In  1642  he  was  on  the  jury  of  trials,  in  1645  a  grand 
juror ;  but  was  excused  from  serving  on  account  of  sickness,  in 
1652  surveyor  of  highways,  and  in  1654  constable. 

In  1655  he  removed  to  Concord,  Massachusetts.  He  was  one 
of  the  original  proprietors  of  Groton,  and  he  and  Mr.  Thomas 
Hinckley  of  Barnstable,  were  of  the  first  Board  of  Selectmen 
appointed  by  the  Legislature  May  28,  1655,  and  to  hold  office  two 
years.  The  Selectmen  managed  the  prudential  affairs  of  the  town, 
laid  out  the  lands  •  into  lots,  and  disposed  of  them  to  the  first 
settlers. 

In  1656,  Dolar  Davis  was  a  resident  at  Concord,  and  in  receipt 
dated  April  9,  of  that  year,  calls   himself  of  that  town.      In    a  deed 


GENEALOGICAL    NOTES    OF    BARNSTABLE    FAMILIES.         ^91 

executed  in  that  town  July  17,  1658,  describes  himself  as  a  house 
carpenter  late  of  Barnstable.  Feb.  IG,  1667-8,  he  had  returned  to 
Barnstable,  where  he  died  June  1673,  aged  about  80  years. 

Dolar  Davis'  house  lot  was  the  most  northerly  on  the  east  side  of 
the  ancient  Mill  Way.  discontinued  in  1669.  In  his  deed  to  Abra- 
ham Blush,  dated  July  17,  1658,  he  says,  "all  my  house  lott  of 
lands  lying  by  a  place  commonly  called  Old  Mill  Or'eek,"  containing 
two  acres,  and  was  bounded  northerly  by  his  own  meadow  in  the  Mill 
Pond,  easterly  partly  upon  Mr.  Dimmock  marsh,  and  partly  upon 
his  own  land  ;  southerly,  partly  on  the  common,  and  partly  by 
Goodman  Huckins,  and  westerly,  partly  on  Goodman  Huckics  and 
partly  by  Nicholas  Davis.  His  house  stood  not  far  from  the  water 
mill  built  by  the  first  settlers  on  the  spot  where  the  present  mill 
stands. 

He  also  owned  three  lots  of  land  at  Stony  Cove,  containing 
twelve  acres,  ten  acres  of  meadow  on  the  north  ot  his  house  lot,  and 
on  the  opposite  side  of  Mill  Creek,  twelve  acres  in  the  old  common- 
field,  and  a  lot  of  four  acres  adjoining  his  houselot  on  the  south-east, 
bounded  westerly  partly  upon  the  common,  and  partly  by  his  own 
land,  easterly  by  Nicholas  Davis,  northerly  by  Mr.  Dimmock's 
marsh,  and  southerly  by  Goodman  Foxwell's  land. 

The  above  described  lands  and  meadow  he  sold  to  Abraham 
Blush,  by  deed  dated  17th  July,  1658.  The  common  land  named  in 
the  above  description,  consisted  of  two  acres  of  swamp,  a  little  dis- 
tance north-west  of  the  Agricultural  Hall,  afterwards  granted  to 
John  Davie,  and  by  him  sold  to  Abraham  Blush. 

Dolar  Davis'  great  lot  of  sixty  acres,  "butted  easterly  upon  the 
Indian  Pond,  westerly  into  the  commons,  bounded  southerly  by  John 
Crocker,  northerly  by  Henry  Brown."  This  he  sold  to  Mr.  Thomas 
Allen,  who  re-sold  .the  same  22d  Feb.  1665,  to  Roger  Goodspeed. 

The  causeway  across  Mill  Creek  to  the  Common  Field,  which 
was  then,  and  now  is,  the  mill  dam.  Mill  Creek  is  frequently 
named  in  the  description  of  the  lands  and  meadows  in  the  vicinity  ; 
but  the  owners  of  the  Mill  are  not  named  in  the  earliest  records  now 
.extant.  Nicholas  Davis  owned  the  land  adjoining  the  spot  on 
which  the  Mill  .stood.  No  description  of  his  lands  except  the  grant 
made  to  him  by  the  Indifin  Sachem  at  Hyannis,  is  found  on  the  town 
records.  After  his  death  his  lands  were  set  off  to  his  creditors,  and 
no  particular  description  is  given.  John  Bacon,  Esq.,  was  an  early 
owner  in  the  mill,  and  was  part  owner  of  the  landing  or  dock  on 
the  west  side  of  the  mill  formerly  owned  by  Nicholas  Davis,  and 
yet  the  property  of  the  Bacons.  Dolar  Davis  sold  his  farm,  includ- 
ing his  dwelling-house  arid  meadows,  for  £75.  Nicholas  Davis'  real 
estate,  not  ini;luding  the  twelve  acres  sold  to  John  Bacon,  or  the 
Caleb  Lumbert  farm  which  was  set  off  to  his  widow  as  her  portion, 
was  apprised  at  £180.  He  did  not  own  sO'Tnany  acres  as  his  father, 
and  it  is  evident  that  the  superior  value  of    his  property  consisted  in 


292i        GENEALOGICAL    NOTES    OF    BARNSTABLE    FAMILIES. 

the  buildings  and  improvements  thereon.  He  had  a  warehouse  at 
Hyaunis,  the  first  building  erected  by  the  English  at  South  Sea,  and 
a  warehouse  on  his  lot  at  Mill  Creek..  The  latter  contained  not 
more  than  two  acres,  and  on  this  there  was,  sixty  years  ago,  a  large 
and  valuable  frame  dwelling-house,  built  in  the  style  of  the  first 
comers.  In  absence  of  all  evidence  to  the  contrary,  the  presumption 
is  that  this*  ancient  house  and  the  Mill,  were  originally  the  property 
of  Nicholas  Davis. 

Perhaps  among  all  the  families  which  came  to  New  England, 
not  one  can  be  selected  more  deserving. of  our  esteem  and  uuquaiified 
approbation  than  that  of  Dolar  Davis.  As  a  man,  he  was  honest, 
industrious,  and  prudent ;  as  a  Christian,  tolerant  and  exact  in  the 
performance  cf  his  leligious  duties;  as  a  neighbor,  kind,  obliging, 
and  ever  ready  to  help  those  who  needed  his  assistance,  and  as  a  father 
and  the  head  of  his  family,  he  was  constantly  solictious  for  the 
welfare  of  all  its  members^  cultivating  tho.se  kindly  feelings  and 
amenities  of  life,  which  render  home  delightful.  His  sons  and  his 
grand-sons  followed  in  his  footsteps.  They  were  men  whose  charac- 
ters stand  unblemished.  It  is  pleasant  to  read  their  wills  on  record, 
and  note  the  affection  with  which  they  speak  .of  the  members  of 
their  families,  and  their  desire  to  provide  not  only  for  their  immediate 
wants,  but  for  the  future  prospective  misfortunes  or  necessities  of 
any  of  their  kindred.  The  latter  remark,  however,  will  apply  more 
particulaily  to  Samuel,  of  whom  a  more  particular  account  will 
be  given. 

The  family  of  Dolar  Davis  is  for  convenience  of"  reference 
arranged  in  a  regular  genealogical  series,  in  order  to  distinguish 
between  members  of  this  tamily,  and  that  of  Robert  of  the  same 
Christian  name.  I  call  Nicholas  a  son  of  Dolar.  If  I  am  asked  to 
point  to  the  record  of  the  fact  I  cannot.  Many  circumstances  show 
that  they  were  near  relatives.  The  fact  that  Nicholas  was  a  favorite 
name  among  the  descendants  of  Dolar  who  joined  the  Quakers,  that 
the  house  lots  of  Dolar  and  Nicholas  were  parts  of  the  same  orij^inal 
lot,  and  other  circumstances,  have  induced  me  to  call  Nicholas  the 
son  of  Dolar. 

1.  I.  Dolar  Davis,  carpenter,  married  first  Margery  Willard', 
daughter  of  Richard  Willard  of  Horsmonden,  County  of  Kent, 
in  England.  He  came  over  in  1634:.  His  first  wife  probably 
died  in  Concord.  He  married  for  his  second  wife  Joanna, 
widow  of  John  Bursley,  and  daughter  of  Rev.  Joseph  Hall. 
He  died  in.  1673,  and  names  in  his  will  dated  Sept.  12,  1672, 
his  children,  then  living.  Nicholas  was  then  dead,  and  left  no 
children . 

2.  I.  John,  born  in  England,  married  Hannah  Linnell  15th 
March,  1648. 

3.  II.     Nicholas,  borft-in  England,  married  Mary  or  Sarah. 

4.  HI.     Simon,    born    in   England,  married   Mary   Blood,    12th 


GENEALOGICAL    NOTES    OF    BAKNSTABLE    FAMILIES.         293 

Dec.  1660. 

5.  IV.  Samuel,  born  in  England,  married  Mary  Meads  llth 
Jan.  1665. 

6.  V.  Mary,  born  in  England,  married  Thomas  Lewis,  June 
15,  1653. 

7.  VI.  Ruth,  born  in  Barnstable,  baptized  24th  March,  1644, 
married,  Dec.  3,  1663,  Stepen  Hall,  son  of  widow  Mary 
of  Concord.  He  afterwards  removed  to  Stowe,  was  repre- 
sentative in  1689. 

John  Davis  was  a  house  carpenter  and  was  one  of  the  three 
last  survivors  of  the  first  settlers.  His  houselot,  containing  eight 
acres,  was  the  first  on  the  west  of  Baker's  Lane,,  now  called 
Hyannis  road.  The  lot  was  originally  laid  out  to  Edward 
Fitzrandolph,  'who  sold  the  same  in  1649  to  John  Chipman  ;  but 
the  deed  was  not  executed  till  Aug.  13,  1669,  and  was  never 
recorded.*  John  Davis'  deed  of  the  same  lot  recorded  in  the 
Barnstable  town  records  is  dated  Oct.  15,  1649,  and  signed  by 
John  Scudder. 

Jan.  14,  1658,  he  sold  six  acres  of  his  houselot  to  Samuel 
Normon,  bounded  northerly  by  his  little  fenced  field,  easterly  by 
the  Hyannis  road,  southerly  by  the  woods,  and  westerly  by  the 
land  of  Mr.  Wm.  Sergeant.  On  the  26th  of  February,  1665, 
Norman  re-conveyed  this  land,  with  his  dwelling  house  thereon, 
to  John  Davis ;  but  the  land  yet  retains  the  name  of  Norman's 
Hill.  He  also  owned  thirteen  acres  on  the  east  side  of  the  Hyan- 
nis road,  bounded  northerly  "upon  Mrs.  Hallet's  set  of,"  easterly 
by  Mrs.  Hallett,  westerly  by  the  Hyannis  road  ;  and  an  addition 
of  five  acres  on  the  south,  extending  on  both  sides  of  the  Hyannis 
road.  He  also  owned  three  acres  in  the  old,  and  two  acres  in  the 
new  common-field,  half  an  acre  on  the  north  side  of  the  County 
road,  opposite  his  house,  improved  as  an  orchard  and  garden,  and 
a  quarter  of  an  acre  bought  of  Henry  Cobb  near  where  David 
Bursley's  house  now  stands,  four  acres  of  meadow  at  Sandy  Neclr, 
and  two  acres  within  the  present  dyke,  bounded  westerly  by 
Rendevous  Creek. 

In  his  will,  dated  May  10,  1701,  proved  April  9,  1703,  he 
bequeaths  to  his  "eldest  son  John  all  that  parcel  of  upland  and 
swamp  that  he  now  possesses  and  dwells  on  contained  within  his 
fence  on  the  eastward  side  of  the  highway  that  leads  up  into  the 
woods,  estimated  to  be  about  fourteen  acres,  upon  condition  that 
he  shall  pay  £30  in  money  to  my  executors  as  shall  be  hereafter 
ordered.  And  what  he  hath  already  paid  to  be  deducted  out  of 
ye  said  £30. 

*I  refer  here  to  an  original  deed  which  I  have  in  my  possession.  Another  deed  of  the 
same  property  dated  June  1,  1649,  to  John  Chipman  was  recorded  that  year-  Why  two 
were  p^iven  of  the  same  property  is  not  easily  explained.  They  are  not  exact  copies. 
Perhaps  the  one  I  have,  wa.=!  given  to  correct  some  error  in  the  first. 


294         GENEALOGICAL    NOTES    OF    BARNSTABLE    FAMILIES. 

Itt— I  give  and  bequeath  to  my  daughter  Mercy  for  her  tender 
care  and  labor  past  done  for  me  and  her  mother,  £20  in  money, 
and  £5  a  year  so  long  as  she  continues  to  attend  me  and  her 
mother,  or  the  longest  liver — her  diet,  washing,  and  lodging,  in 
the  family  with  her  brother  Benjamin;  1  cow  and  heifer,  2  sheep, 
2  swine,  and  at  her  mother's  decease,  1-2  the  household  stuff  and 
bedding  forever,  and  the  southward  end  of  the  house  so  long  as 
she  shall  live  a  single  life. 

Names  son  Samuel,  to  whom  he  gives  1  yoke  of  Oxen  and  a 
great  chain.  Son  Benjamin,  to  whom  he  gives  nearly  all  his 
estate  in  consideration  of  his  taking  care  of  him  and  his  mother 
during  life. 

Names  sons  Dollar,  Timothy,  Jabez,  daughters  Ruth  Linnell, 
Hannah  Jones'  5  children,  son  John's  four  eldest  sons,  grand- 
daughter Mary  G=oodspeed,  grand-son  Joseph  Davis,  Daughter 
Mary  Hinckley.  Benjamin  Davis,  Executor. 

Signed  with  his  mark,  J.  D. 
Witness — Joseph  Lothrop,  James  Cobb,  Samuel  S.  Sergeant,  (his 

mark) . 
Appraisers — James  Lewis,  Jeremiah  Bacon,  Edward  Lewis. 

Am't  of  Inventory  268,12,4. " 

Nicholas  Davis  came  to  Barnstable  with  his  father,  and  was 
able  to  bear  arms  in  1643.  Judge  Sewall  says  he  favored  the 
Quakers  at  their  first  coming,  though  he  did  not  embrace  their 
principles  till  after  1657,  when  he  took  the  oath  of  fidelity.  He 
was  a  trader,  built  a  warehouse  at  South  Sea,  the  first  building 
erected  by  the  English  in  that  part  of  the  town.  His  accounts 
show  that  he  dealt  more  with  the  Indians  than  was  for  his  profit, 
and  that  the  gift  of  land  to  him  by  the  Sachem  Hianna,  was  not 
in  the  end  a  good  bargain. 

June  1656,  he  was  in  the  court  at  Plymouth  when  the  Sand- 
wich men  were  convicted  and  fined  for  refusing  to  take  the  oath  of 
fidelity,  and  was  a  witness  of  the  unjust  usages  to  which  they 
had  been  subjected  by  the  cruelty  of  the  under  Marshal  Barlow. 
He  was  indignant  and  attempted  to  speak,  saying  "That  he  was  a 
witness  for  the  Lord  against  their  oppression,"  and  was  about  to 
say  wherein,  when  he  was  put  down,  and  committed  to  prison ; 
but  was  soon  released. 

In  the  same  month  he  went  to  Boston  to  settle  with  those 
with  whom  he  had  traded,  and  pay  some  debts.  He  was  there 
arrested,  sent  to  prison  to  remain  till  the  sitting  of  the  court  of 
Assistants.  His  fellow  prisoners  were  William  Robinson,  a  mer- 
chant of  London,  and  Marmaduke  Stevenson  of  Yorkshire, 
Quaker  preachers,  and  Patience  Scott  of  Providence,  a  little  girl 
eleven  years  old.  He  was  kept  in  prison  till  Sept.  12,  16.79, 
when  he  was  liberated  on  the  consideration  if  found  within  the 
colony  of   Massachusetts  after  the  14th  of    that  month  he  should 


GENEALOGICAL,    NOTJES    OF    BARNSTABLE    FAMILIES.         295 

suffer  death.  The  two  Quaker  preachers  who  were  confined  did 
not  leave  the  Colony  within  the  time  prescribed,  were  again 
arrested,  and  afterwards  hung  on  Boston  Common. 

On  the  6th  of  October  following  the  Plymouth  Colony  Court 
ordered  the  notorious  Marshal  Barlow  "to  repair  to  the  house  of 
William  Newland  and  Ralph  Allen  of  Sandwich,  and  Nicholas 
Davis  of  Barnstable,  to  make  search  in  any  part  of  their  houses, 
or  in  any  of  the  chests  or  trunks  of  the  above  said,  or  elsewhere, 
for  papers  or  writings  that  were  false,  scandalous,  and  pernicious 
to  the  government,  and  return  such  as  they  may  find  to  the  court." 
As  no  retm-n  appears  to  have  been  made,  it  is  presumed  no  such 
papers  were  found. 

Nicholas  Davis  continued  his  business  in  Barnstable  till  1670. 
In  the  spring  of  1672  he  was  a  resident  of  Newport,  where  he 
traded,  but  it  does  not  appear  that  he  had  permanently  removed 
from  Barnstable.  He  was  drowned  before  9th  Aug.  1672.  His 
wife  Sarah  administered  on  his  estate  at  Newport.  Maj.  John 
Walley  administered  on  his  estate  in  Massachusetts. 

It  does  not  appear  that  Nicholas  Davis  was  a  member  of  the 
Society  pf  Friends.  His  name  does  not  appear  on  the  records  of 
the  Sandwich  Monthly  Meeting,  yet  he  probably  was  a  member  at 
the  time  of  his  removal  to  Rhode  Island,  otherwise  Roger 
Williams  in  his  big  book  against  the  Quakers,  would  not  have 
boasted,  that  in  his  public  conference,  with  the  friends  of  George 
Fox,  that  he  made  good  use  of  the  event  that  Nicholas  Davis,  one 
of  their  leading  men,  was  drowned. 

Nicholas  Davis  owned  a  large  real  estate  in  Barnstable. 
Hianna,  the  Sachem,  gave  him  a  tract  of  land  on  the  inlet  now 
called  Lewis'  Bay.  The  boundaries  are  indefinite ;  it  included 
the  land  where  Timothy  Baker's  store  now  stands,  and  on  which 
he  erected  a  warehouse. t  He  traded  at  New  York,  Connecticut, 
and  Rhode  Island,  and  his  goods  were  landed  at  Hyannis  and 

t  To  all  persons  to  whom  these  presents  shall  coni6,  know  yee  that  I,  Yanno  Sachem  of 
a  certaine  tract  of  lands  lying  and  being  att  the  South  See,  in  the  presincts  of  Barnstable,  in 
the  GoTemment  of  New  Plymouth,  in  New  England,  in  America,  have  for  divers  good 
reasons  mee  moving  freely  and  absolutely  given,  granted,  enfeofed,  and  confirmed,  and  by 
these  presents  do  giye,  graunt,  enfeof,  and  confirm  unto  Nicholas  Davis,  of  Barnstable, 
aforeeaid  merchant  a  certaine  p  sell  of  the  said  lands  lying  att  the  South  Sea  aforesaid, 
commonly  called  by  the  name  of  Sam's  Neck,  bounded  northerly  by  the  lands  of  Barnstable 
-  bought  of  mee,  the  said  Yanno,  at  the  head  of  the  river  where  the  said  Nicholas  Davis  hath 
now  erected  a  warehouse,  and  from  thence  extending  to  the  head  of  the  river,  westerly 
where  the  ludians  were  wont  to  dwell  in  winter,  extending  southerly  over  the  mouth  of  the 
said  river  to  the  sea,  and  bounded  westerly  partly  by  the  said  river  and  partly  by  the  lands 
of  Barnstable,  and  bounded  easterly  by  the  harbor,  commonly  called  Yanno's  harbor. 

The  mark  (Ixj )  of  Yanno. 

And  a  fseale]. 
Yanno  Sachem  above  said,  personally  appeared  before  mee  and  acknowledged  this  to  be 
his  acte  and  deed. 

Atttest,  THOMAS  HINCKLEY,  Assistant. 
Wattanwassan,  the  eldest  son  of  the  said  Yanno,  appeared  before  mee  and  acknowl- 
edged his  &ee  consent  to  this  above  said  deed  of  gift. 

THOMAS  HINCKLEY,  Assistant. 
The  above  deed  is  dated  October  26th,  1666,  and  recorded  in  Plymouth  Colony  Becords 
Book  of  Deeds  Vol.  3,  Pago  61. 

WM.  S.  RUSSELL,  keeper  of  said  record. 


296         GKNEALOGIOAL    NOTES    OF    BAKNSXABLB    FAMILIES. 

transported  across  the  Cape.  Oysters  were  at  that  ti-ne  very 
abundant  and  Davis  bought  them,  put  up  in  barrels,  of  the 
Indians  and  others,  and  shipped  them  from  Hyannis.  In  early 
times  the  "making  of  Oysters,"  as  the  packing  of  them  is  called 
in  the  will  of  Benjamin  Bearse,  was  a  considerable  business. 
Many  of  the  Oysters  packed  were  probably  brought  from  the 
vicinity  of  Oyster  Island. 

He  also  owned  two  acres  of  land  on  the  west  of  his  father's 
land,  where  the  late  Dea.  Joseph  Chipman  lived,  including  the 
landing  and  the  land  around  the  water  mill,  which  was  then  proba- 
bly his  property.  On  his  land  he  had  a  dwelling  house  which 
stood  where  Mr.  Maraspin's  now  does,  corresponding  in  size  and 
appearance  to  that  built  by  Nathaniel  Bacon  which  has  been 
described.  He  also  had  a  warehouse  on  this  lot.  He  had 
twelve  acres  of  land  on  the  south-east  of  his  father's,  sold  to 
John  Bacon,  Esq.,  and  already  described.  He  also  bought  of 
Caleb  Lumbard  the  easterly  part  of  the  great  lot  of  Thomas 
Lumbard,  with  the  house  thereon.  This  was  set  off  to  his  widow 
as  her  dower,  and  was  afterwards  owned  by  the  descendants  of 
Robert  Davis. 

(2-1)  John   Davis,   son  of    Dolar    Davis,   married   by    Mr. 
Prince,  at  Eastham,  March  15,  1648,  to  Hannah,  daughter  of  Mr. 
Robert  Linnell  of  Barnstable.     He  died  1703. 
Children  horn  in  Barnstable. 

8.  I.     John,  born  15th  Jan.  1649-50,  married  three  wives. 

9.  II.     Samuel,  born  15th  Dec.  1651,  died  unmarried  1711. 

10.  III.     Hannah,  married  Jedediah  Jones. 

11.  IV.     Mary,  born  3d  Jan.    1753-4,   married   1st,   B.  Good- 
speed,  1676,  2d,  John  Hinckley,  Nov.  24,  1697. 

12.  V.     Joseph,    born    June    1656,    married    Mary    Claghorn, 
March  28,  1682. 

13.  VI.     Benjamin,  born  June,  1656,  died  unmarried  1718. 

14.  VII.     Simon,  born  15th  July,  1658,  died  young,  no  issue 
probably. 

15.  VIII.     bolar,  born  1st  Oct.   1660,  married  3d  Aug.  1681, 
Hannah  Linnell. 

16.  IX.     Jabez,  married  Experience  Linnell,  20th  Aug.  1689. 

17.  X.     Mercy,  unmarried  1718. 

18.  XI.     Timothy,  married  Sarah  Perry  1690. 

19.  XII.     Ruth,  born  1674,  married  John  Linnell  1695. 

(3-2)  Nicholas  Davis  of  Barnstable,  probably  son  of  Dolar 
Davis,  married,  June  1661,  Mary  or  Sarah.  There  is  no  record 
of  his  family  on  the  Barnstable  town  records.  He  was  drowned 
at  Newport  before  Aug.  9,  1672. 

Children  born  in  Barnstable. 

20.  I.     A  child  Feb.  1661-2. 

21.  II.     Simon,  1656,  drowned  Feb.  13,  1657-8. 


22. 

I. 

23. 

II. 

24. 

III. 

25. 

IV. 

26. 

V. 

27. 

VI. 

28. 

VII 

GENEALOGIOAL    NOTES    OF    BARNSTABLE    FAMILIES.'        297 

(4-3)  Simon  Davis  .of  Concord,  son  of  Dolar  Davis,  married 
12th  Dec.  1660,  Mary,  daughter  of  James  Blood. 
Simon,  born  12th  Oct.  1661. 
Mary,  born  3d  Oct.  1663. 
Sarah,  born  15th  March,  1666. 
James,  born  19th  June,  1668. 
Ellen,  born  22d  Oct.  1672. 
Ebenezer,  1676. 
.     Hannah,  born  1st  April  1679. 
(5-4)  Samuel  Davis  of  Concord,  son  of  Dolar  Davis,  married, 
11th  Jan.  1665,  Mary  Meads  (or  Meddows.) 
29.     I.     Mary,  born  Sept.  27,  1666. 
.30.      II.     Samuel,  born  21st  June  1669. 

31.  III.     Daniel,  born  16th  March  1673. 

32.  IV.     EUza. 

33.  V.     Stephen. 

34.  VI.     Simon,  born  9th  Aug.  1683. 

(6-5)  Thomas  Lewis,  son  of  George,  married  Mary  Davis 
15th  June  1653,  and  had  James  March  1654;  Thomas,  15th  July 
1656  ;  Mary,  2d  Nov.  1659  ;  Samuel,  14th  May  1662.  Thomas 
Lewis  was  probably  the  first' town  clerk  of  Falmouth,  but  I  am 
not  certain.  '  ' 

(3-1)  John  Davis,  Jr.,  son  of  John,  and  grandson  of  Dolar, 

married  Ruth  Goodspeed  2d  Feb.   1674.      She  died .      2d, 

married  Mary  Hamlin  22d  Feb.  1692,  she  died  Nov.  1698.  3d, 
married  Widow  Hannah  Bacon  1699,  widow  of  Nathaniel.    ■ 

35.  I.     John,  last  of  Nov.  1675,  died  middle  August  1681. 

36.  II.     Benjamin,  8th  Sept.  1679. 

37.  III.     John,  17th  March  1684. 

38.  IV.     Nathaniel,  17th  July  1686. 

39.  V.     Jabez,    baptized    10th    May   1691,    married    Patience 
Crocker,  1727. 

40.  VI.     Shobal,  born, 10th  July  1694. 

41.  VII.     James,  24th  March  1696. 

42.  VIII.     Ebenezer,  13th  May  1697. 

43.  IX.     Nicholas,  12th  March  1699. 

44.  X.     Jedediah,  5th  June  1700. 

45.  XI.     Desire,  born  May  1705. 

46.  XII.     Noah,  7th  Sept.  1707. 

John  Davisi  Jr.,  was  a  house  carpenter.  Feb.  21,  1677-8, 
the  town  granted  to  him  "liberty  to  set  up  a  shop  on  a  knowl  of 
ground  over  against  his  house  adjoining  to  his  father's  fence  on 
the  other  side  of  the  highway.''  In  August,  1683,  the  neighbors 
wanted  a  watering  place  in  the  swamp  on  the  south  side  of  his 
house,  and  the  town  agreed  to  give  him  five  acres  of  land  at  the 
head  of  Samuel  Sergeant  and  Isaac  Chapman's  lots.  That  now 
within  fence,  was  afterwards  re-sold  by  the  town  to  Ebenezer 
Lewis. 


298      ■  GENEALOGICAL    NOTES    OF   BAKNSTABL15    FAMILIES. 

His  father  gave  him  the  fourteen  acres  of  land  he  owned  on 
the  east  of  the  Hyannis  road  on  which  he  built  a  house.  He 
removed  to  Falmouth  about  the  year  1710,  and  died  in  1729,  aged 
80,  leaving  an  estate  appraised  at  £1,810.  He  names  his  ten  sons 
and  two  daughters,  and  his  wife's  daughter,  Elizabeth  Bacon,  in 
his  will,  which  is  similar  to  that  of  his  brothei*  Samuel's.  He 
orders  a  fund  of  £500  to  pay  legacies,  &c. 

(9-2)  Samuel  Davis,  son  of  John  Davis,  resided  in  Barn- 
stable. He  did  not  marry.  He  died  in  1711,  leaving  a  large 
estate  for  those  times.  He  owned  all  the  land  on  the  south  side 
of  the  road,  between  the  lot  which  was  his  father's,  and  the  lane 
next  west  of  the  Barnstable  R.  R.  Depot.  Dec.  21,  1696,  he 
sold  lands  in  Rochester,  to  Samuel  Chipman,  for  £35.  His  will 
on  record  is  dated  25th  June,  1711,  and  was  proved  on  the  4th  of 
January  following.  It  is  one  of  those  wills  that  please  gene- 
alogists. He  says :  "I  freely  give  unto  my  brother  Benjamin 
Davis,  during  his  natural  life,  the  use  and  improvement  of  all  the 
uplands  and  meadows  I  bought  of  Isaac  Chapman  and  Samuel 
Sargeant  here  lying  together^butting  against  the  land  of  Ebene- 
zer  Lewis  on  Potter's  Neck,  and  so  up  into  the  ■  woods  to  the  head 
thereof  and  also,  in  like  manner,  to  have  my  woodlot  lying  above 
the  head  thereof,  and  at  the  decease  of  my  brother  Benjamin, 
then  my  will  is  that  Samuel  Davis,  son  of  my  brother  Jatoez 
Davis,  deceased,  shall  have  all  the  forementioned  lands,  meadows, 
and  woodlot,  to  him,  his  heirs  and  assigns,  forever,  he  or  they 
paying  three  hundred  pounds  for  the  same,  (excepting  five  pounds 
of  said  sum  to  himself)  and  to  have  seven  years  time  to  pay  out 
the  same,  after  said  lands  come  into  his  hands." 

He  further  provides,  that  if  Samuel  should  die  or  refuse  to  take 
the  same,  then  Simon,  son  of  his  brother  Joseph,  to  take  the 
same,  on  the  same  conditions,  and  if  he  refuse,  then  the  next  in 
kin  of  the  "Davises"  to  have  the  same  offer,  and  the  £295  to  be 
divided  as  follows : 

To  my  sister  Mary  Davis,  £40 

Solomon,  son  of  Jabez  Davis,  5 

Brother  Jabez  Davis'  3  daughters,  3 

Sister  Ruth  Linnell,  5 

"         "  "       children,  7 

Br.  Joseph  Davis'  3  sons  5  each,  15 

"        "  "      daughter  Mary,  5 

"  Dolar  Davis'  son  Shubael,  5 

"       "         "      daughter  Hannah,  5 

"       "         "      Thankful  and  Mary,  2 

Sister  Mary, Hinckley,  10 

"         "  "  daughter  Mary,  1 

"      Hannah  Jones'  children  £1  each,  7 

Br.  John  Davis'  10  sous  £4  each,  40 


GENEALOGICAL    NOTES    OF    BARNSTABLE    FAMILIES.  299 

To  Br.  John  Davis'  2  daughters,  £1,  £  2 

"    "    Timothy  Davis,  20 

"    "           "    "       "      son  Nicholas,  5 

"    "           "           "      daughter,  '       5 


£182 

To  his  brother  Benjamin  Davis  he  gave  ten  acres  of  land  in  the 
common  field  bought  of  Samuel  Sargent,  and  other  property,  and 
to  his  sister  Mercy  Davis  nearly  all  his  moveable  estate. 

He  also  ordered  a  part  of  the  income  of  his  estate  to  be  kept 
in  bank,  and  to  be  distributed  to  such  of  his  relations  of  the 
Davis'  as  may  fall  under  decay,  and  be  in  want  either  by  sickness 
or  lameness  or  other  accident — proportioned  according  to  their 
several  necessities — until  all  is  distributed. 

He  appointed  Benjamin  Davis  his  executor.  He  died  in  1718 
and  Samuel  assumed  the  trust,  and  though  the  estate  was 
appraised  at  £481,17,10,  it  proved  insufficient  to  pay  the  legacies 
in  full.  Samuel,  before  making  a  final  settlement,  remaved  ■  to 
to  Connecticut.  Some  of  the  receipts  call  him  of  Groton,  others 
of  New  London,  and  others  of  Coventry. 

(10-3)    Hannah,  daughter  of   John  Davis,  married  Jedediah 
Jones  18th  March,  1681,  and  resided  at  Scorton,  just  within  the 
bounds  of  Barnstable.     In  the  town  records  only  Shubael,  Simon, " 
Isaac,  Timothy  and  Hannah,  are  named  born  previous  to  1695. 

(11-4)    Mary,  daughter   of    John  Davis,  married   in  1677, 

Benjamin  Goodspeed,  and  had  Mary  Jan  10,  1677-8,  who  married 

•Ichabod  Hinckley,  and  receipted  for  his  wife's  legacy.     Nov.  24, 

1697,  she  married  Ensign  John  Hinckley  of  West  Barnstable.     By 

her  last  husband  she  had  no  children. 

(12-5)  Joseph,  son  of  John  Davis,  married,  March  28,  1682, 
Mary  Claghorn,  daughter  of  James.  He  resided  at  Chequaquet, 
and  died  about  1690.     She  died  1706. 

Children  horn  in  Barnstable. 

47.  I.     Simeon  19th  Jan.  1683. 

48.  II.     Marv,  19th  June  1685. 

49.  III.     Joseph,  April,  1687. 
60.  IV.     Robert,  13th  June  1689. 

James  Cahoon,  illegitimate  son  born  Oct.  25,  1696. 

(13-6)  Benjamin,  son  of  John  Davis,  died  unmarried  in  1718, 
and  his  estate  was  divided  among  his  brothers  and  sisters  and  their 
representatives  then  living:  1,  to  John  Davis,  (Samuel  died  in 
1711)  ;  2,  to  heirs  of  Hannah  Jones,  deceased;  3,  to  heirs  of 
Mary  Hinckley,  deceased  ;  4,  to  heirs  of  Joseph  Davis,  deceased, 
(Benjamin  and  Simon  deceased)  ;  5,  to  heirs  of  Dolar  Davis ; 
6,  to  heirs  of  Jabez  Davis ;  7,  to  Mary  Davis;  8,  to  Timothy 
Davis ;  and  9,  to  Ruth  Linnell.  Of  the  family  of  John  Davis 
four  were  living  in  1718,  three  had  died  leaving  no  issue,  and  five 


300         GENEALOGICAL    NQT^IS    QF    B/^KjSTSTAHLE    FAMILIES. 

who  had  families.  He  had  lands  at  Catacheset,  Oyster  Island, 
Cotuit,  Cooper's  Pond,  and  at  the  Common  Field.  .  He  owned  the 
dwelling-house  which  was  his  father's. 

(14-7)  Dolar,  son  of  John  Davis,  removed  early  to  South  Sea. 
His  farm  was  at  Skoneonet.  He  married,  3d  Aug.  1681,  Hannah, 
daughter  of  David  Linnell.  He  was  a  house  carpenter  and  joiner. 
He  died  in  1710,  and  names  in  his  will,  sons  Shubael,  Stephen, 
Daniel,  Job,  and  Noah,  and  daughters  Hannah,  Thankful,  Remem- 
ber Mercy.  He  gave  one  half  of  his  joiners  tools  to  Stephen, 
and  the  othef  half  and  all  his  carpenters  tools,  to  Job.  He  had 
two  swords,  which  indicates  that  he  had  seen  service  as  a  soldier. 
The  best  he  gave  to  j'ob,  and  the  other  to  Noah.  His  wife  is  not 
named;  and  was  probably  dead. 

Children  horn  in  Barnstable. 

51.  I.     Shubael,  23d  April,  1685,  married  twice. 

52.  II.     Thomas,  Aug.  1686  died  young. 

53.  Ill,     Hannah,  Dec.  1689. 

54.  IV.     Stephen,  Sept.  1690. 

55.  V.     Thankful,  March  1696. 

56.  VI.     Daniel,  July  1698. 

57.  VII.     Job,  July  1700. 

58.  VIII.     Noah,  Sept.  1702. 

59.  IX.     Remember  Mercy,  16th  Oct.  1704. 

(16-9)  Jabez,  son  of  John  Davis,  was  a  carpenter,,  and 
resided  in  Barnstable.  In  his  will  dated  29th  Sept.  1710,  he 
named  all  his  children  excepting  Reuben  and  Ebenezer,  who- 
probably  died  young.  He  orders  his  sons  Isaac  and  Jacob  to  be 
put  to  some  trades  as  soon  as  they  are  capable.  Inventory 
£538,16,08. 

Jabez  Davis  married,  20th  Aug.  1689,  Experience,  daughter 
of  David  Linnel,  of  Barnstable.  He  died  1710,  and  his  widow 
married,  JFeb.  13,  1711-12,  Benjamin  Hatch,  of  Falmouth..  She 
died  a  widow  Dec   1736. 

Children  horn  in  Barnstable. 

60.  I.     Nathan,  2d  March  1690,  (town  and  church  records.) 

61.  II.     Reuben,  (church  records.) 

62.  III.     'Samuel,  25th  Sept.  1692.     Removed  to  Connecticut. 

63.  IV.     Bathsheba,  16th  Jan.  1694. 

64.  V.     Isaac,  23d  April,  1.696,  died  in  1718. 

65.  VI.     Abigail,  26th  April,  1698,  married  Sept.  1718,  Joseph 
Hamblin. 

66.  VII.     Jacob,  Oct.  169§. 

67.  VIII.     Mercy,  6th  Feb.  1701. 

68.  IX.     Ebenezer,  bap   23d  June,  1706. 

69.  X.     Solomon,  4th  Sept.  1706. 


70. 

I. 

71. 

II. 

72. 

III. 

73. 

IV. 

74. 

V. 

75. 

VI. 

GENEALOGICAL    NOTES    OF    BARNSTABLE    FAMILIES.         301 

(17-10)  Mercy,  daughter  of  John  Davis,  was  an  old  maid, 
.  gentle,  kind,  affectionate,  nurse  and  physician  to  her  father  and 
mother,  her  brothers  and  sisters,  and  the  host  who  called  her  aunt. 
She  died  in  1733,  aged  about  70,  and  bequeathed  her  whole  estate 
to  her  sister  Ruth  Linnell,  to  children  of  her  brother  John,  and  to 
her  nephew  Simon  Davis. 

(18-11)  Timothy,  son  of  John  Davis,  joined  the  society  of 
Friends  and  removed  to  Rochester,  and  is  the  ancestor  of  the 
Davis's  in  New  Bedford  and  Rochester.  Until  the  discovery  of 
Samuel  Davis' Will  they  were' unable  to  trace  their  descent  from 
Dolar.  They  knew  they  were  distantly  related  to  the  Davis's  in 
Falmouth,  descendants  of  John  Jr.,  and  that  Nicholas,  the  early 
Quaker,  was  a  connection,  but  the  degree  of  consanguinity  was 
unknown. 

Timothy   Davis   married    7th   of  ,  1st   month,   1690,    Sarah, 
daughter  of    Edward  Perry,  of   Sandwich.     His  oldest  son  was 
born  in  Sandwich,  his  other  children  probably  in  Rochester. 
Nicholas,  Oct.  28,  1690. 
Hannah,  Sept.  17,  1692. 
.     Sarah,  March  18,  1693-6. 
Rest,  Sept.  17,  1700. 
Peace,  April  14,  1702. 
Dorcas,  Sept.  10,  1704. 

These  dates  are  from  the  records  of  the  Sandwich  monthly 
meeting,  and  first  month  was  then  March. 

(19-12)  Ruth,  daughter  of  John  Davis,  married,  in  1695, 
John  Linnel,  one  of  the  first  who  removed  to  South  Sea.  His 
house  was  at  Hyannis  Port,  and  was  taken  down  a  few  years  ago. 
She  had  seven  children ;  making  the  whole  number  of  the  grand 
children  of  John  Davis,  Senior,  56.  She  died  May  8,  1748,  in 
the  75th  year  of  her  age,  and  is  buried  in  the  ancient  grave  yard 
at  Barnstable. 

[The  Concord  and  Falmouth  branches  are  here  dropt.J 

(47-1)  Capt.  Simon  Davis,  son  of  Joseph,  born  19th  Jan. 
1683-4,  was  an  officer  in  the  militia,  and  a  man  of  some  note.  At 
41  he  married.  May  12,  1725,  Elizabeth  Lumbert,  who  died  leav- 
ing no  issue.  At  56  he  married  Priscilla  Hamblin,  (June  5,  1740.) 
By  her  he  had  Mary,  Feb.  28,  1741-2  ;  Content,  March  23,  1743-4  ; 
Priscilla,  Feb.  17,  1745-6,  and  Joseph  baptized  July  17,  1748. 
She  died  April  1751,  aged  41. 

(50-4)  Robert,  son  of  Joseph  Davis,  probably  removed  to 
Rochester,  where  he  had  by  Mary,  Joseph,  April  8,  1727; 
Benjamin,  Feb.  22,  1728-9  ;  Benajah,  June  27,  1734. 

(51-1)  Shubael  Davis,  son  of  Dolar,  married,  Sept.  15,  1720, 
Hopestill  Lumbert,  and  2nd,  Patience  Crocker  1727. 

(54-4)  Stephen  Davis,  son  of  Dolar,  married  Desire  Lewis 
March  12,  1730.  He  died  very  suddenly  Dec.  7,  1756.  He  had 
Mary  and  Martha,  twins,  born  April  23,  1732  ;  Jonathan  baptized 


302         GENEALOGICAL    NOTES    OF    BARNSTABLE    FAMILIES. 

June  8,  1740  ;  and  Stephen  born  July  6,  1746.  Mary  married 
Benjamin  Lumbert,  Jr.,  May  23,  1751  ;  Martha,  Joseph  Lewis, 
Esq. 

(56-6)  Daniel  Davis,  son  of  Dolar,  married  Mary  Lothrop. 
Children  born  in  Barnstable  :  Daniel,  April  1,  1724  ;  Samuel,  May 

8,  1727;  Joseph,  May  28,  1729,  died  June  30,  same  year; 
Jonathan,  Sept.  21,  1733.  Mrs.  Mary  Davis  was  dismissed  Sept. 
26,  1742,  from  the  Barnstable  church  to  the  church  in  Lebanon, 
Conn. 

(57-7)  Job  Davis,  son  of  Dolar,  married,  Dec.  22,  1724, 
Mary  Phinney.  He  inherited  the  estate  of  his  ancestor  John. 
He  died  April  4,  1751,  aged  50,  and  his  widow  died  at  the  great 
age  of  98  years.  Their  children  were:  1,  Mary,  June  21,  1725, 
died  young;  2,  Thomas,  Oct.  16,  1726,  deaf  and  dumb,  was  a 
weaver,  died  unmarried;  3,  Shubael,  March  19,  1729,  married 
Thankful  Lewis,  Jr.,  April  30,  1852;  4,  Mary,  July  18,  1731, 
married  Thomas  Young  Feb.  1759-60  :  5,  Mehitabel,  March  9, 
1733-4,  married  1st  Gershom  Cobb  Feb.  6,  1761-2,  and  2d, 
Nathaniel  Lothrop,' 1776  ;  6,  Seth,  Dec.  27,  1736;  7,  Hannah, 
Sept.  6,  1739,  married  David  Childs  April  4,  1758,  and  through 
her  the  ancient  Davis  estate  passed  into  the  Child  family ;  8, 
Ebenezer,  Dec.  17,  1742,  deaf  and  dumb,  a  shoe  maker.  He 
removed  to  Maine. 

(58-8)  Noah  Davis,  son  of  Dolar,  married.  May  7,  1724, 
Hannah  Fuller,  and  had  Lewis,  Aug.  26,  1724;  Thankful,  March 

9,  1728;  Eunice,  April  20,  1734;  John,  baptized  July  4,  1742; 
Joseph,  Oct.  21,  1746.  Eunice  married  Jabez  Claghorn  Nov.  21, 
1759. 

(60-1)  Nathan  Davis,  son  of  Jabez,  was  a  wheelwright,  he 
married,  24th  Nov.  1714,  Elizabeth  Phinney,  and  had  Jabez  7th 
Oct.  1715;  Sarah,  12th  Aug.  1717;  Elizabeth,  15th  Sept.  1718; 
Isaac,  9th  June  1720.  He  administered  on  his  brother  Isaac's 
estate  in  1710. 

Solomon,  sou  of  Jabez  Davis,  married  Mehitabel  Stertevat  of 
Sandwich,  and  removed  to  that  town. . 

(70-1)  Nicholas  Davis,  son  of  Timothy,  belonged  to  the 
Society  of  Friends  and  resided  at  Rochester.  He  was  a  Quaker 
preacher,  and  spent  most  of  his  time  in  Rochester  and  Dart- 
mouth. He  however  travelled  extensively,  visiting  North  Caro- 
lina, Virginia,  New  Jersey,  Maryland,  Pennsylvania  and  New 
York.  On  his  return  from  a  journey  from  New  York  he 
was  taken  sick  of  a  fever  and  died  at  the  house  of  William  Russell 
in  Oblong,  10th  month,  7th  Oct.  1775,  (after  1752  January  was  the 
first  month)  in  the  65th  year  of  his  age.  He  married  thrice. 
1st,  Mary,  2d,  Hannah,  and  3d  Ruth.  By  his  first  wife  he  had 
Nathan  born  11th  month,  (Jan.)  28,  1715-16;  Elizabeth,  11 
month,  20,  1718-19.  By  his  second  wife  he  had  no  children.  By 
his  third  wife,  Timothy,  born  2d  month  (April)  9, 1730.;  Nicholas, 


GENEALOGICAL    NOTES    OF    BARNSTABLE    FAMILIES.        303 

3  month,  (May)  10, 1732  ;  Abram,  12th  month  (Feb.)  20,  1735-6  ; 
(Rochester  records  Feb.  1,  1736)  Mary,  5th  month  (July)  3, 
1742  ;  James,  3d  month  (May)  1743.  The  latter  was  grandfather 
to  Wm.  P.  Davis  of  Yarmouth.  Timothy  of  this  family  was  a 
Quaker  preacher.  During  the  Revolution  he  was  an  ardent  whig, 
and  wrote  a  pamphlet  in  favor  of  prosecuting  the  war.  For  this, 
he  was  disowned  by  his  brethren.  [It  is  said,  on  what  authority 
I  am  unable  to  say,  that  Jefferson  Davis  is  a  descendant  of 
Timothy.] 

In  early  times  the  descendants  of  .Dolar  Davis  were  very 
numerous  in  Barnstable ;  now  not  one  remains  who  is  a  legal 
voter.  Many  families  of  the  name  removed  ;  but  not  so  many  as 
of  some  other  names.  Many  of  the  families  have  dwindled  and 
died  out. 

The  Davis  families  in  Truro  are  descendants  of  Benjamin 
Davis,  born  about  the  year  1730.  He  married  Betsey  Webb.  He 
had  Benjamin  who  removed  first  to  Chatham  and  thence  to  Reed- 
fleld,  Maine  ;  James  W.  ;  Ebenezer  L.  ;  and  Betsey  who  married 
Solomon  Mirick,  of  Brewster.  His  son  Ebenezer  L.  married 
Azubah  Hinckley,  and  had,  Dianah,  Solomon,  Ebenezer,  Betsey, 
Benjamin,  Azubah,  and  Joshua  H.,  most  of  whom  are  now  living. 
James  W.  has  also  descendants  now  living. 


DELAR 


JAMES  DELAP. 


'  In  1688,  when  William  and  Mary  ascended  the  throne  of 
England,  manufacturing  industry  had  given  wealth  and  prosperity 
to  Ireland.  In  the  first  year  of  their  reign  the  royal  assent  was 
given  to  laws  passed  by  both  Houses  of  Parliament,  to  discourage 
the  manufactures  of  Ireland  which  competed  with  those  of  Eng- 
land. Lord  Fitzwilliam  says  that  by  this  inviduous  policy  100,000 
operatives  were  driven  out  of  Ireland.  Many  of  the  Protestants 
to  Germany,  some  of  the  Catholics  to  Spain,  and  multitudes  of 
all  classes  to  America.  Dobbe,  on  Irish  trade,  printed  in  Dublin  . 
in  1729,  estimated  that  3000  males  left  Ulster  yearly  for  the 
colonies. 

The  tolerant  policy  of  William  Penn,  induced  many  to  settle 
in  Pennsylvania.  The  arrivals  at  the  port  of  Philadelphia,  of  Irish 
emigrants,  for  the  year  ending  December  1729,  was  5,655.  The 
satiriol  Dean  Swift  reproached  the  aristocracy  for  their  suicidal 
impolicy  "in  cultivating  cattle  and  banishing  men." 

The  Irish  emigrants  who  came  over  at  the  close  of  the  1 7tb 
and  the  beginning  of  the  18th  centuries,  were  a  very  different 
class  from  those  who  now  throng  to  our  shores.  Very  few  could 
claim  a  purely  Celtic  ancestry.  Those  from  the  north  of  Ireland 
were  descendants  of  Scots  who  had  settled  there  and  were  known 
as  Scotch  Irish.  Many  were  descendants  of  English  parents,  and 
of  the  Huguenots  who  found  an  asylum  in  Ireland  after  the 
Eevocation  of  the  Edict  of  Nantz.  A  large  proportion  of  them 
were  tradesmen,  artisans,  and  manufacturers.  Many  settled  in 
the  Southern  States.  Londonderry,  in  New  Hampshire,  -was 
settled  by  the  Scotch  Irish,  and  several  towns  in  Maine.  Many 
settled  in  various  towns  in  New  England,  and  not  a  few  of  the 
most  noted  men  in  our  country  trace  their  descent  from  these 
Irish  refugees.  Among  these  are  some  families  of  the  name  of 
Allison,  Butler,  Cathern,  Carroll,  Clinton,  Fulton,  Jackson,  Knox, 
McDonouah,  Ramesy,  Read,  Sullivan,  Walsh,  Wayne,  and  many 
others  distinguished  in  the  annals  of    our  country.     Of    the   fiftv- 


GENEALOGICAL    NOTES    OF    BARNSTABLE    FAMILIES.        305 

six  who  signed  the  Declaration  of  Independence,  nine  were  Irish, 
or  of  Irish  origin. 

The  influence  of  this  class  of  imigrants  has  not  been  suffi- 
ciently appreciated.  The  acts  of  the  British  Parliament  which 
brought  ruin  to  Ireland,  gave  prosperity  to  America.  Wherever 
the  Irish  refugees  settled,  there  mechanical  and  manufacturing 
industry  was  developed,  giving  a  diversity  of  employment  to  the 
people,  adding  to  their  wealth,  and  making  them  prosperous  and 
less  dependent  on  the  mother  country.  The  introduction  of  steam 
power,  the  construction  of  canals  and  many  great  public  enter- 
prises, originate'd  with,  or  were  promoted,  and  brought  to  a  suc- 
cessful issue,  by  the  descendants  of  these  settlers.  In  the 
Revolutionary  army  many  of  the  most  efficient  officers  were  Irish, 
or  sons  of  Irishmen.  In  civil  life  many  were  eminent.  Gov. 
James  Sullivan  of  Mass.,  w.sis  the  son' of  a  Limerick  school 
master,  who  with  other  Irish  families  settled  in  Belfast,  Maine,  in 
1723.  Gen.  Andrew  Jackson,  President  of  the  United  States, 
was  the  son  of  an  Irish  refugee. 

Among  them  were  men.  distinguished  in  literature,  George 
Berkluy,  Dean  of  Derry,  came  in  1729.  His  "Theory  of  Vision" 
has  made  his  name  familiar  in  Europe.  His  object  was  to  estab- 
lish a  college  for  the  conversion  of  the  red  race.  He  settled  at 
Newport  where  he  had  a  farm  of  ninety  acres.  Failing  in  his 
purposes  in  1732,  he  gave  his  farm  and  the  finest  collection  of 
books  which  had  then  come  over  at  one  time,  to  Yale  College.  In 
Newport  his  "Minute  Phylosopher"  was  composed,  and  the  follow- 
ing beautiful  lines  so  poetical  in  conception,  and  known  to  -every 
school  boy  to  "this  day  : 

"Westward  the  Star  of  Empire  takes  its  way, 

Tlie  tliree  first  acts  already  past; 
The  fourth  shall  close  it  with  the  closing  day, 

Earth's  noblest  Empire  is  the  last." 

Among  the  first  settlers  in  this  County  several  Irish  names 
occur.  Higgins  is  a  Longford  name.  The  Kelley's  descended 
from  the  O'Kelley's,  a  noted  clan  resident  near  Dublin.  In  latter 
fimes,  several  of  the  Scotch-Irish  settled  in  Barnstable,  namely : 
William  Belford,  James  Delap,  John  Cullio,  John  Easterbrooks, 
and  Matthew  Wood. 

Charles  Clinton,  the  ancestor  of  the  Clintons  in  New  York, 
was  born  in  Longford,  Ireland,  in  the  year  1690.  His, grand- 
father William  was  an  adherent  of  Charles  T,  and  took  refuge  in 
the  north  of  Ireland.  His  father  James  married  Elizabeth  Smith, 
a  daughter  of  one  of  the  Captains  in  Cromwell's  army.  He  was 
a  man  of  wealth  and  influence,  and  induced  many  of  his  friends 
and  neighbors  to  emigrate  with  him  to  America.  He  chartered 
the  ship  George  and  Ann,  Capt.  Ryper,  to  transport  them  and 
their  effects  from  Dublin  to  Philadelphia.  The  whole  number  of 
passengers,  including  men,  women,  and  children,  was  one  hundred 


306        GENEALOGICAL   NOTES   OF   BARNSTABLE   FAMILIES. 

and  fourteen.  Among  the  papers  of  Mr.  Charles  Clinton  is  a 
document  showing  that  he  paid  the  passage  money  for  ninety- 
four. 

Mr.  Clinton  was  unfortunate  in  his  selection  of  a  ship ; 
but  more  unfortunate  in  his  selection  of  a  captain.  Rymer 
was  a  cold  blooded  tyrant,  of  whom  his  officers  and  sailors 
were  in  constant  fear,  and  as  base  a  villian  as  ever  trod  the  deck 
of  a  slave-ship.  The  George  and  Ann  sailed  on  the  20th  of  May, 
1729,  from  the  port  of  Dublin  for  Philadelphia,  poorly  supplied 
with  stores  for  a  voyage  of  the  ordinary  length,  but  protracted  by 
the  infamy  of  the  master  to  one  hundred  and  ttiirty-five  days. 
The  passengers  were  not  isolated  individuals  who  had  casually  met 
on  ship-board,  they  consisted  of  families  who  had  converted 
their  estates,  excepting  such  portion  as  they  could  con- 
veniently take  with  them,  into  gold,  to  purchase  lands  in 
Pennsylvania,  and  build  a  town  where  they  could  enjoy  the 
civil  apd  religious  privileges  denied  to  them  in  their  native 
land.  They  had  selected  the  mild  season  of  the  year  for  their 
passage,  and  expected  to  arrive  in  Philadelphia  in  July,  in  season 
to  select  their  place  of  residence,  and  put  up  dwellings  before 
winter.  Such  were  their  anticipations.  They  did  not  dream  that 
half  of  their  number  would  find  watery  graves  before  reaching 
the  shores  of  America. 

Among  the  passengers  in  this  ill-fated  ship  were  the  father 
and  mother  of  James  Delap,  and  his  sisters  Rose,  Jean,  and 
Sarah.  Tradition  says  there  was  another  child  whose  name  is  not 
preserved.  The  Delap  family  were  from  Cavan,  a  county 
adjoining  Longford,  the  former  home  of  nearly  all  the  other 
passengers.  There  were  two  on  board  whom  Capt.  Delap  in  his 
narrative,  calls  "Methodists."* 

Several  besides  Mr.  Clinton  had  considerable  sums  in  gold 
and  silver  coins.  This  was  known  to  the  captain,  and  excited  his 
cupidity,  and  he  resolved  to  prolong  the  voyage,  and  to  keep  his 
ship  at  sea  until  his  provisions  were  exhausted,  and  his  passengers 
had  died  of  famine  and  disease,  and  then  seize  and  appropriate 
their  goods  to  his  own  use.  Such  was  the  diabolical  plan  of  Capt. 
Rymer. 

The  ship  had  not  long  been  at  sea  before  the  passengers 
began  to  mistrust  that  the  captain  had  evil  designs.  He  was 
tyrannical  in  the  exercise  of  his  authority,  and  his  officers  and 
men  were  in  constant  fear  of  him.  The  ship  was  making  slow 
progress  towards  her  port  of .  destination,  the  passengers  had  been 
put  on  short  allowance,  and  some  had  already  died  of  disease 
engendered  by  the  small  quantity  and  bad  quality  of  the  provisions 

*No  Methodist  preachers  came  oyer  as  early  as  1729.  "MethodiBt"  was  a  nick-name 
then  applied  to  men  who  were  very,  exact  in  the  performance  of  their  religious  duties, 
whether  Catholic  or  Protestant.  The  converts  of  the  ■Wesle3''8'  were  called  "Methodist," 
and  they  adopted  the  name,  as  the  converts  of  Fox  did  that  of  Qualter. 


GENEALOGICAL    NOTES    OF    BARNSTABLE    FAMILIES.         307 

served  out.  Starvation  and  death  seemed  inevitable  if  no  change 
could  be  effected,  and  the  passengers,  after  consultation,  resolved 
to  assume  the  command  if  a  change  could  not' otherwise  be  made. 
The  two  called  "Methodists,"  having  some  knowledge  of  the 
theory  and  practice  of  invigation,  were  appointed  to  watch  night 
and  day  all  the  movements  of  Capt.  Rymer.  One  night  soon 
afterwards,  they  discovered  that  though  the  wind  was  fair,  the 
ship  was  sailing  in  an  opposite  direction  from  her  true  course. 
They  inquired  of  the  helmsman  why  he  so  steered  ;  his  reply  was, : 
"that  is  the  captain's  order." 

This  fact  was  communicated  to  the  other  passengers.  Several 
had  then  died  of  starvation,  and  many  had  become  so  weak  and 
emaciated  by  want  of  food  and  nourishment  that  they  could 
scarcely  stand.  Though  weak  and  feeble  they- resolved  to  make 
an  effort  to  compel  the  captain  to  keep  his  ship  on  her  true  course, 
both  by  night  as  well  as  by  day.  One  of  the  passengers  had  a 
brace  of  pistols.  These  Xvere  loaded  and  put  into  the  hands  of 
the  "Methodists,"  and  all  the  passengers  who  had  sufficient 
strength  remaining  followed  them  to  the  quarter  deck.-f"  With  the 
loaded  pistols  in  their  hands  they  charged  the  captain  with 
treachery,  with  protracting  the  voyage,  with  the  design  of  keep- 
ing the  ship  at  sea  till  all  the  passengers  had  perished  of  disease 
or  famine,  and  then  seize  on  their  goods.  He  said  in  reply  that 
the  voyage  had  been  prolonged  by  ■  head  winds,  and  not  by  any 
fault  or  connivance  of  himself  or  his  offcers.  They  then  charged 
him  with  having  kept  his  ship  off  her  course  in  the  night,  thus 
deceiving  the  passengers,  who  were  mostly  landsmen,  and  unable 
in  dark  weather  to  judge  whether  or  not  the  ship  was  on  her  true 
course ;  with  issuing  fuller  rations  to  his  crew  than  to  the  passen- 
ers  that  he  might  be  able  to  navigate  his  ship.  Seeing  the  resolute 
and  determined  manner  of  the  passengers,  he  made  fair  promises  ; 
but  he  made  them  only  that  he  might  break  them.  J 

The  Capes  of  Virginia  was  the  first  land  made,  but  no  date  is 
given,  from  whence,  according  to  the  pretence  of  the  captain,  he 
was  driven  by  stress  of  weather  to  Cape  Cod,  making  the  land  on 
the  4th  of  October  1729. 

This  was  only  pretence,- and  though  his  surviving  passengers 
earnestly  persuaded  him  to  land  them,  according  to  contract,  at 
Philadelphia,  or  at  New  York,  or  at  any  port  he  could  make,  he 
refused  to  accede  to  their  requests,  and  obstinately  kept  his  vessel 
at  sea,  though  his  passengers  were  daily  perishing  for  want  of 


t  Another  account  says  this  occurred  in  the  cabin  of  the  ship.  Prudence  required  that  it 
should  not  occur  in  presence  of  the  crew,  and  I  am  inclined  to  the  opinion  that  the  tradition 
in  our  family  is  at  fault  in  this  particular. 

X  Wliether  this  uprising  among  the  passengers  was  before  or  after  land  had  been  dis- 
covered is  not  named  in  the  narrative  of  Capt.  Delap.  "  It  probably  occurred  before.  It  is 
refeiTed  to  in  several  notices  of  the  voyage  that  I  have  seen.;  but  the  date  of  its  occurrence 
is  not  given,  nor  the  date  of  the  first  sight  of  land. 


308         GENEAIXJGICAL    NOTES    OF    BAHNSTABLE    FAMILIES. 

food.  Every  sailor  knows  that  the  gale  which  would  drive  a 
vessel  from  the  Capes  of  Virginia  to  Cape  Cod,  would  enable  a 
captain  of  very  moderate  attainments  to  havp  made  a  harbor  either 
in  the  Chespeake  or  in  Delaware  Bay,  or  to  have  reached  the  port 
of  New  York.  Like  many  other  villains,  he  did  not  see  the  goal 
to  which  his  base  conduct  inevitably  led.  When  off  the  Capes  of 
Virginia  he  had  wit  enough  to  perceive  the  difBculty  in  which  he 
was  involved.  If  he  listened  to  his  passengers,  and  made  for  the 
port  of  Philadelphia,  he  would  have  been  immediately  ari-ested  on 
his  arrival,  and  his  only  alternative  was  to  keep  his  ship  at  sea, 
avoid  speaking  any  vessel,  and  persist  in  his  diabolical  purpose. 

The  New  England  Weekly  Journal,  printed  at  Boston  Nov. 
10,  1729,  contains  the  following  notice  of  the  arrival  of  the 
George  and  Ann : 

"We  hear  from  Martha's  Vineyard  that  some  time  last  month 
Capt.  Lothrop,  in  his  passage  from  this  place  (Boston)  to  that 
island,  off  of  Monomoy  espied  a  vessel  which  put  out  a  signal  of 
distress  to  them.  He  making  up  to  her  went  aboard  ;  found  her  to 
be  a  vessel  from  Ireland,  bound  for  Philadelphia,  (as  they  said) 
who  had  been  from  thence  20  weeks  and  brought  out  190  passen- 
gers, 30  of  whom  were  children,  being  destitute  of  provision, 
(having  then  but  15  biscuit  on  board),  100  of  them  were  starved 
to  death,  among  which  were  all  the  children  except  one,  and  the 
remainder  of  the  passengers  looked  very  ghastfully.  They  craved 
hard  for  water,  of  which  one  drank  to  that  degree  that  he  soon 
after  died  ;  and  two  more  died  while  Capt.  Lothrop  was  aboard. 
Only  three  of  the  sailors  were  aiive  (besides  the  master  and  mate) 
and  they  sick.  They  entreated  him  to  pilot  them  into  the  first 
harbor  they  could  get  into,  but  the  master  was  for  bringing  them 
to  Boston.  They  told  him  if  he  would  not  let  the  pilot  carry 
them  into  what  place  he  should  think  fit,  they  would  throw  him 
overboard  ;  upon  which  Capt.  Lothrop  having  brought  the  vessel 
off  of  Sandy  Point,  told  them  there  was  but  one  house  near,  and 
spoke  of  going  somewhere  else,  but  they  were  all  urgent  to  put 
them  ashore  anywhere,  if  it  were  but  land.  Accordingly  he 
carried  them  in  and  left  them  there,  with  provisions  ;  'tis  thought 
many  are  since  dead.  Notwithstanding  their  extremity,  and  the 
sad  spectacles  of  death  before  their  eyes,  and  a  near  prospect  of 
their  own,  'twas  astonishing  to  behold  their  impenitence,  and  to 
hear  their  profane  speeches." 

The  renowned  Capt.  John  Smith,  and  other  early  navigators, 
speak  of  Isle  Nauset,  which  in  ancient  times  extended  from  the 
entrance  to  Nauset  harbor,  south  about  four  miles.  Deep  naviga- 
ble waters  now  occupy  its  location.  The  loose  sands  of  which 
it  was  composed  have  been  carried  southward  by  the  currents,  or 
blown  inward,  covering  up  the  meadows,  which  for  many  years 
have  been  seen  croping  out  on  the  eastern  side  of  the  beach,  which 


GENEALOGICAL    NOTES    OF    BARNSTAIiLE    FAJIILIB!<;.        309 

has  passed  entirely  over  them,  and  united  with  Pochet  islands. 
The  harbor  between  the  latter  and  Nauset  Itle  is  now  entirely  filled 
up.  Since  1729  Monomoy  Point,  in  Chatham,  has  extended  south 
several  miles.  The  point  which  Capt.  Lothrop  calls  Sandy,  was 
then  about  four  miles  north  of  Monomoy  Point.  A  vessel  then 
entering  Chatham  harbor  could  sail  eight  miles  in  a  northerly 
direction  within  the  islands  up  to  the  present  town  of  Eastham". 
It  is  certain  that  Capt.  Rymer  landed  his  passengers  at  Nauset, 
and  in  that  part  of  the  territory,  now  called  Orleans. 

When  Captain  Lothrop  boarded  the  George  and  Ann,  Mono- 
moy Point  was  the  nearest  land  ;  a  barren,  desolate  region,  where 
neither  shelter  nor  provisions  could  be  procured.  The  point  which 
,  he  called  Sandy  point  was  on  the  north  of  the  entrance  to  Chat- 
ham, probably  then  separated  by  a  channel  from  Isle  Nauset. 
This  was  also  a  barren,  desolate  region,  with  only  one  house. 
The  settlement  at  Chatham  was  the  nearest,  but  at  that  time  there 
were  only  a  few  inhabitants  scattered  over  a  large  territory. 
Capt.  Lothrop  judged  it  better  to  proceed  further  up  the  harbor  to 
Nauset,  or  Eastham,  an  older  settlement,  where  an  abundance  of 
supplies  could  be  procured.  The  passengers  were  probably  landed 
near  the  head  of  Putamomacut  harbor,  in  the  easterly  part  of  the 
present  town  of  Orleans.  Tradition  says  they  were  landed  on 
Nauset  Beach  ;  but  it  was  equally  as  convenient  to  set  them  ashore 
on  the  main  land,  and  not  on  a  desert  island.  J 

Capt.  Lothrop  belonged  to  Barnstable,  and  was  a  very  relia- 
ble and  accurate  man.  He  states  that  the  number  of  passengers 
was  190,  instead  of  114.  I  give  both  statements,  not  knowing 
which  is  the  most  accurate. 

Of  the  one  hundred  and  fourteen  (or  190  as  stated  by  Loth- 
rop) who  embarked  at  Dublin,  less  than  one-half  were  then  living 
— all  the  rest  had  been  committed  to  the  watery  deep.  Of  the 
Delap  family  the  father,  Rose,  Jane,  Sarah,  and  another,  had  been 
buried  in  the  ocean.  The  mother  was  living  when  Capt.  Lothrop 
came  on  board — emaciated  and  very  weak,  in  consequence  of  long 
abstinence.  "When  food  was  distributed  she  took  a  biscuit,  and 
in  attempting  to  swallow  it  a  piece  lodged  in  her  throat,  and 
before  relief  could  be  obtained,  expired.  Her  body  was  taken  on 
shore,  and  buried  at  Nauset.  James,  when  taken  from  the  boat, 
was  so  weak  that  he  could  not  stand,  and  crawled  from  the  boat 
to  the  beach.  After  landing  the  surviving  passengers  and  some 
of   their  goods,  Capt.  Rymer  proceeded  on  his  voyage  to  Phila- 


J  June  25, 1863.  Not  being  able  to  clearly  understand  the  statement  of  Capt.  Lothrop, 
which  I  received  this  week,  I  went  yesterday  to  Nauset  beach,  and  examined  the  localities, 
and  I  feel  certain  that  the  comments  made  thereon  are  reliable  and  accurate.  Monomoy  is 
now  called  also  Sandy  Point,  which  creates  confusion.  By  Sandy  Point  Capt.  Lothrop 
meant  the  point  at  the  north  entrance  of  Chatham  harbor,  possibly  he  may  have  meant  the 
point  at  the' entrance  of  Potamomacut  harbor;  but  be  that  as  it  may  it  does  not  affect  the 
result.  Now  if  a  vessel  should  arrive  olf  Chatham  in  such  condition  the  news  would  be 
transmitted  to  Boston  in  an  hour,  then  it  was  thirty-five  days  before  the  intelligence  reached 
Boston. 


HIO         GKNEALOGICAL    NOTES    OF    BAKNSTABLK    FAMILIES. 

delphia.  After  his  ai-rival  the  sailors,  relieved  from  the  terror  in 
which  they  had  been  held,  entered  a  complaint  against  their 
Captain.  He  was  arrested,  a  preliminary  examination  was  had, 
and  he  was  sent  in  irons  to  P^nglaud  for  trial.  The  charges  of 
cruelty  to  his  passengers  and  crew,  of  extortion,  and  of  an 
attempt  to  embezzle  the  goods  of  the  passengers,  were  proved, 
and  he  was  condemned  to  be  hung  and  quartered,  and  this  just 
sentence  was  duly  executed  in  Dublin.* 

Such  is  the  short  and  sad  narrative  of  the  passage  of  James 
Delap  to  this  country.  No  details  of  Individual  suffering  are 
given.  The  fact  that  more  than  one-half  of  all  on  board  perished 
of  starvation,  is  a  suggestive  one.  He  was  then  fourteen  years  of 
age;  young,  but  the  incidents  of  such  a- passage  would  make  a< 
deep  impression,  not  soon  to  be  forgotten.  So  far  as  known,  he 
was  the  sole  survivor  of  the  family — an  orphan  boy,  weak  and 
emaciated — a  stranger  in  a  strange  land,  without  money,  without 
any  friend  or  protector  but  "the  father  of  the  fatherless." 

Little  is  known  of  his  orphanage.  From  Eastham  he  came 
to  Barnstable,  and  Nov.  5,  1729,  he  chose  John  Bacon,  Jr., 
saddler,  for  his  guardian,  with  whom  he  resided  during  his  minor- 
ity, as  an  apprentice  to  learn  the  trade  of  a  blacksmith. f 

He  had  a  guardian  appointed  early  that  he  might,  as  stated  in 
the  record,  have  an  agent  who  had  legal  authority  to  secure  the 
small  "estate  of  his  Honored  father,  deceased."  A  small  portion 
was  recovered,  and  on  the  26th  of  the  following  January  apprised' 
at  £16, 4s  by  Geo.  Lewis,  James  Cobb,  and  John  Scudder,  Jr. 
The  "Goods  and  Chatties"  saved  consisted  of  articles  of  men  and 
women's  apparel,  bedding,  table  linen,  woolen  yarns,  and  a  gun. 

Capt.  Delap  always  spoke  kindly  of  his  "Master  Bacon." 
He  was  treated  as  a  member  of  the  family.  The  children 
regarded  him  as  a  brother,  and  for  three  successive  generations 
the  relation  between  the  families  was  most  intimate. 


*  Respecting  the  Toj'agc  and  its  lermination,  there  are  some  discrepencies.  Iloosack. 
in  his  life  of  Clinton,  says  tlie  ship  sailed  from  Dublin  in  May,  1729,  and  after  a  voyage  of  21 
weeks  and  3  days  arrived  at  Cape  Cod,  in  the  fall,  where  Mr.  Clinton  and  his  surviving 
friends  remained  till  the  following  spring,  when  they  took  passage  for  New  Winsor,  Orange 
Co.,  New  York.  As  the  ship  had  been  insured  in  Dublin  the  captain  contrived  to  let  her 
slip  her  moorings  on  a  stormy  night,  in  which  she  was  lost.  The^accouat  in  Hoosack  says 
that  the  captain  kept  his  passengers  at  sea  until  he  extorted  a  sum  of  money  from  them  to 
land  them;  that  Clinton  wanted. the  officers  oi  the  ship  to  seize  the  Captain  and  ship  but 
they  refused. 

Eager,  in  his  history  of  Orange  County,  N.  Y.,  says  the  Captain  was  seized,  put  in  irons 
by  the  passengers,  and  the  command  given  to  the  mate,  who  brought  the  vessel  in,  in  a 
few  days. 

Among  the  passengers  were  three  of  the  name  of  Armstrong,  all  of  whom  died  on  the 
passage,  Charles  Clinton  and  wife,  Alexander  Dennison,  and  John  Young,  who  survived. 
[For  the  information  in  this  note,  I  am  indebted  to  E.  B.  O'Callagan,  Esq.,  of  Albany.  I 
am  also  indebted  to  Hon.  .John  G.  Palfrey,  and  Rev.  Henry  M.  Dexter,  of  Boston,  and  J.  R. 
Bordhead,  Esq.,  author  of  the  history  of  New  York,  for  assistance  in  compiling  this 
article.] 

t  John  Bacon,  -Jr.,  was  the  father  of  the  late  Capt.  Isaac  Bacon,  Sen'r,  and  own^d  the 
house  in  which  the  latter  lived,  a  large  two  story  gambrel  roofed  honse,  that  stood  next  east 
of  the  ancient  Bacon  mansion.  .John  Bacon,  Jr.,  is  called  a  saddler,  lie  was  also  a  black- 
smith and  a  sailor.  His  blacksmith's  shop  stood  on  the  west  of  his  house,  near  the  row  of 
ancient  cherry  trees,  and  there  James  learned  his  trade. 


GENEALOGICAL    NOTES    OF    BAilNSTABLP:    FAMILIES.        311 

After  completing  the  term  of  his  apprenticeship,  he  bought 
the  estate  of  Jeremiah  Bacon,  Jr.,  bounded  south  by  the  county 
road,  the  present  lane  to  the  Common  Field  is  on  the  west  of  his 
land,  north  by  Mill  Creek,  and  east  by  a  small  run  of  water,  con- 
taining three  and  one-half  acres,  with  the  two  story  single  house 
thereon.  His  shop  stood  on  the  road,  east  of  the  irun  of  water. 
The  hill  on  the  east  of  his  shop  is  yet  known  as  Delap's  Hill. 

In  the  summer  season  he  sailed  in  the  Barnstable  and  Boston 
packet,   at   first,   with   Capt.   Solomon   Otis,   and   afterwards   as ' 
master.      In  the   winter   he   was   employed   in   his   blacksmith's 
shop. 

June  22,  1738,  he  was  married  by  Rev.  Mr.  Green,  to  Mary, 
daughter  of  Benjamin  O'Kelley,  of  Yarmouth.  She  was  born 
April  8,  1720,  O.  S.,  and  at  the  tirne  of  her  marriage  had  been 
residing  in  the  family  of  Deacon  Isaac  Hamblin  of  Yarmouth. 
Though  only  18,  she  was  a  member  of  the  Church  in  Yarmouth,, 
and  was  all  her  life  a  woman  of  exemplary  piety.  Her  mother, 
Mary,  was  a  daughter  of  Benjamin  and  Sarah  (Walker)  Lumbert, 
born  in  Barnstable  17th  June,  1688.  She  was  a  widow  many 
years,  and  resided  with  her  daughter,  was  a  mid-wife,  a  vocation 
which  a  century  ago  was  a  very  common  and  very  useful  employ- 
ment for  females.  She  was  experienced,  and  stood  high  in  her 
profession.  When  more  than  four  score  years,  when  on  her  way 
to  visit  a  patient,  her  horse  stumbled,  and  she  fell  and  broke  her 
leg ;  but  after  being  confined  to  her  room  some  months  she  . 
recovered,  and  resumed  her  useful  labors  for  a  short  time.  She 
died,  according  to  t^e  church  records.  May  1,  1772,  aged  82  years 
— nearly  84  years  of  age,  if  her  birth  is  accurately  recorded. 

Capt.  James  Delap  removed  from  Barnstable  to  Granville, 
Nova  Scotia,  in  the  spring  of  the  year  1775,  and  resided  on  a  farm 
which  he ,  inherited  from  his  son  Thomas,  who  died  young.  All 
his  family  removed  with  him  excepting  his  daughters  Rose  and 
Catherine.  His  health  began  to  fail  before  he  removed  from 
Barnstable,  and  he  died  in  Granville  in  1789,  of  apoplexy,  aged 
about  74. 

He  is  spoken  of  as  a  "very  friendly,  civil  man,  hospitable  to 
strangers,  kind  to  all,  and  very  liberal  in  his  efforts  to  educate  his 
children."  His  letters  to  his  children  indicate  that  he  was.  a 
very  affectionate  parent,  and  took  a  lively  interest  in  their  welfare. 
"In  person  he  was  short,  thick  set,  stout  built,  with  a  short  neck, 
a  form  which  physiologists  say  predisposes  to  apoplexy  of  which 
he  had  three  shocks,  two  before  he  removed  from  Barnstable.  In 
politics,  he  was  a  staunch  loyalist,  a  fact  that  seems  inconsistent 
with  the  history  of  his  family.  Though  his  widow  was  sixty -nine 
years  of  age  at  his  death,  she  married  John  Hall,  Esq.,  of  Gran- 
ville, whom  she  survived.  She  died  June  4,  1804,  aged  84  years. 
She  was  an  exemplary  and  consistent  Christian  ;  an  active  ener- 
getic woman  ;  and  an  excellent  wife  and  mother. 


312    GKNEALOGICAL  NOTES  OF  BARNSTABLE  FAMILIES. 

Capt.  James  Delap  had  ten  children  all  born  in  Barnstable, 
all  lived  to  mature  age,  and  all  excepting  Thomas  married  and 
had  families.  The  eight  daughters  of  James  Delap  were  all 
robust  and  healthy  ;  women  of  good  sense,  sound  judgement,  and 
good  business  capacity,  most  of  them  lived  niore  than  seventy 
years  and  had  numerous  descendants. 

Children  of  James  and  Mary  Delap  horn  in  Barnstable. 

I.  Rose,  born  Feb.  25,  1739,  O.  S.,  married  Ebenezer  Scud- 
der,  of  Barnstable,  Jan,  11,  1759,  and  had  ten  children: 
1,  Ebenezer,  Aug.  13,  1761;  2,  James,  March  14,  1764, 
died  young;  3,  Thomas,  Sept.  10,  1766,  died  young;  4, 
Isaiah,  Jan.  8,  1768  ;  5,  Asa,  July  25,  1771  ;  6,  Elizabeth, 
Oct.  12,  1773,  married  Morton  Croclier ;  7,  Josiah,  Nov. 
30,  1775;  8,  James  D.,  Oct.  27,1779;  9,  Thomas  D., 
Jan.  25,  1782  ;  10,  Rose,  April  24,  1784,  died  young. 
Mrs.  Rose  Scudder  died  April  17,  1812,  aged  72  years. 
Mr.  Ebenezer  Scudder  died  June  8,  1818,  aged  85  years. 
He  was  a  man  of  mild,  pleasant  disposition,  a  quiet,  good 
neighbor.  Mrs.  Rose  Scudder  was  a  woman  of  great 
firmness  and  decision  of  character,  and  of  untiring  industry. 
She  resided  at  Chequaquet,  near  Phinney's  Mill,  seven 
miles  from  the  meeting  house  in  the  east  parish,  yet  she 
often,  on  the  Sabbath,  walked  to  meeting,  attended  the 
morning  and  afternoon  service,  dined  and  took  tea  with 
her  sister  Catherine,  and  walked  home  in  the  evening,  the 
whole  distance  by  unfrequented  roads,  and  moi'e  than  one- 
half  the  distance  through  forests.  She  often  traveled  four 
miles  to  spend  an  evening,  and  at  9  o'clock  walked  home 
alone,  nearly  the  whole  distance  through  a  dense  forest. 
She  spun  much  street  yarn  ;  but  she  spun  it  for  some  pur- 
pose. She  carried  her  knitting  work  with  her,  and  knit  as 
she  walked  on.  She  said  her  work  was  good  company  on 
a  dark  night.  Her  sons  Ebenezer,  Isaiah,  Asa,  Josiah  and 
James,  inherited  the  character  of  their  mother,  and  were 
active  business  men,  and  successful  in  life.  Thomas  and 
Elizabeth,  like  their  father,  were  mild  and  pleasant;  but 
wanting  in  energy  of  character. 

II.  Abigail,  born  Nov.  6,  1741,  0.  S.,  married,  Feb.  9,  1764, 
John  Coleman,  of  Granville,  Nova  Scotia.  He  was  a  son 
of  James  Coleman  of  Barnstable.  She  had  several  chil- 
dren. Her  sons  James  and  Thomas  were  lost  at  sea.  She 
died  in  1825,  aged  84. 

ni.  Catherine,  born  Sept.  3,  1743,  married  Amos  Otis,  (my 
grandfather)  and  always  resided  in  Barnstable.  She  had 
two  children,  Amos  and  Solomon.  She  died  Feb.  28, 
1819,  aged  75,  having  lived  a  widow  47  years. 


GENEALOGICAL    NOTES    OF    BAJiNSTABLE    FAMILIES.         313 

IV.  Thomas,  born  April  14,  1745,  did  not  marry.  He  was 
master  of  a  vessel,  in  the  King's  service,  Dec.  6,  1771, 
while  on  a  voyage  from  Philadelphia  to  Halifax,  during  a 
violent  gale  and  snow  storm  was  east  ashore  on  Great 
Point,  Nantucket.  All  on  board  succeeded  in  getting  to 
the  shore.  It  was  a  thick  snow  storm  and  very  cold. 
Capt.  Delap  perished  in  one  of  the  hollows  or  gorges  on 
that  point.  Mr.  Amos  Otis  in  another.  Two  of  the  sailors 
went  on  to  Cortue  Point,  heading  towards  the  town,  and 
both  froze  to  death  on  that  point.  Two  other  sailors  and 
a  boy,  John  Weiderhold,  succeeded  in  getting  off  Great 
Point,  and  reached  a  barn  at  Squam.  They  covered  them- 
selves up  in  the  hay,  placing  the  lad  between  them,  so  that 
the  warmth  of  their  bodies  kept  him  from  freezing. 

The  next  day  the  vessel  was  discovered  by  people  from 
the  town,  high  and  dry  on  the  beach,  and  if  the  captain  and 
crew  had  remained  on  board  none  would  have  been  lost; 
Capt.  Delap,  Mr.  Otis,  and  most  of  the  crew,  had  been 
exposed  to  the  storm  about  twelve  hours  when  the  vessel 
was  east  on  shore,  and  were  wet,  benumbed  with  cold,  and 
almost  exhausted,  when  they  got  to  the  land.  The  boy 
was  the  only  one  who  had  not  been  exposed,  and  who  had 
dry  clothing.  Capt.  Delap  is  buried  at  Nantucket,  and  the 
manner  of  his  death  is  recorded  on  a  monument  to  his 
memory.     His  age  was  26  years,  7  months,  and  11  days. 

The  boy,  Weiderhold,  from  that  time  made  Nantucket 
his  home.  He  died  about  thirty  years  ago.  He  was  a 
member  of  the  Masonic  Fraternity,  and  a  very  worthy  man. 
He  often  related  the  sad  story  of  the  shipwreck,  and  pointed 
out  the  spots  where  each  perished. 

V.  Mary,  born  Nov.  3,  1747,  O.  S.,  married  Seth  Backus  of 
Barnstable,  had  a  family  of  six  children,  Walley,  Betsey, 
Mary,  Seth,  James,  Thomas,  and  removed  to  Lee,  Mass., 
where  she  died  at  an  advanced  age.  Her  son  Walley  was 
an  influential  man. 

VI.  Sarah,  born  April  11,  1750,  O.  S.,  married  Capt.  James 
Farnsworth,  of  Groton,  and  removed  to  Machias,  where 
she  died  in  1785,  aged  35  years.  She  had  a  son  who  died 
in  childhood,  and  three  daughters.  One  married  Simeon 
Foster,  and  resided  at  Cooper,  Maine.  Her  grandson, 
Benjamin  F.  Foster,  was  a  popular  writing  master,  and 
author  of  a  system  of  penmanship.  Another  daughter, 
Sarah,  married  George  S.  Smith,  Esq.,  of  Machias. 

VII.  Jane  or  Jean,  born  Aug.  13,  1752,  O.  S.,  married,  in  1772, 
Jonas  Farnsworth,  (a  cousin  of  the  Capt.  Jonas  who  mar- 
ried Sarah.)  Their  oldest  daughter,  Nancy,  (my  mother) 
was  born  at  Machias,  in  1773.     Having  obtained  of   the 


314         GENEALOGICAL    NOTES    OF    BARNSTABLE    FAMILIES. 

British  authorities  a  permit  to  remove,  and  a  protection 
against  capture,  tlie  family  embarked  for  Boston.  On  their 
passage  the  vessel  was  taken-  by  the  British  ship  of  war 
Viper,  and  sent  to  Halifax.  They  afterwards  took  passage 
in  another  vessel,  were  again  captured,  and  were  finally 
landed  at  Newburyport,  from  whence  they  proceeded  to  his 
native  town,  Groton,  Mass.  When  captured,  several  shots 
were  fired,  and  at  the  suggestion  of  the  Captain,  Mrs.  F. 
and  her  infant  daughter  laid  on  the  cabin  floor,  which  was 
below  the  water  line  and  comparatively  safe.*  Mr.  Jonas 
Farnsworth  died  suddenly  of  apoplexy,  July  16,  1805,  aged 
57  years.  She  died  May  1826,  aged  73.  They  had  ten 
children,  and  have  numerous  descendants.  Their  youngest' 
son.  Rev.  James  Delap,  was  a  graduate  of  Harvard  College, 
and  collected  materials  for  genealogies  of  the  Farnsworth 
and  Delap  families,  which  remain  unpublished. 

VIII.  Hannah,  born  July  14,  1755,  N.  S.,  married  Samuel  Street, 
Esq.,  a  Captain  in  the  British  Navy,  and  died  soon  after, 
leaving  no  children. 

IX.  Temperance,  born  in  1757,  baptized  at  the  East  Church 
Jan.  15,  1758,  married  Dea.  Thaddeus  Harris, f  of  Corn- 
wallis.  Nova  Scotia,  and  died  Nov.  9,  1732,  aged  76,  leav- 
ing a  numerous  family  of  children  and  grand-children. 
One  of  her  sons  was  for  many  years  a  member  of  the 
Queen's  Council.  A  grandson  for  several  years  was  a 
minister  at  Hyannis. 

X.  James,  born  March,  baptized  Nov.  18,  1759,  married  at 
20,  Sarah  Walker,  of  Granville,  and  had  twelve  children. 
He  married  for  his  second  wife  Mrs.  Pengree,  of  Corn- 
wallis,  N.  S.,  and  removed  to  that  town.  He  was  for 
many  years  a  deacon  of  the  Baptist  Church  in  Granville. 
He  lived  to  be  an  old  man. 


It  is  surprising  that  no  contemporaneous  account  of  the  voy- 
age of  the  George  and  Ann  to  this  country  can  be  quoted — a  voy- 
age unparelled  in  atrocity  in  the  annals  of  immigration.  Most 
that  is  known  is  traditionary.  Records  must  somewhere  exist. 
The  newspapers  of  the  day  probably  contain  some  information. 
The  records  of  the  court  in  Dublin,  where  Rymer  had  his  trial,  if 
'Copies  could  be  obtained,  would  furnish  authentic  information. 

.„  *-t"  ?  '""^"^  °^  "^7  Sreat  grandfather,  James  Delap,  to  his  daughter  Jane,  dated  Gran- 
ville, July  15, 1780,  but  not  forwarded  till  Oct.  1,  he  says ;  "We  want  to  see  you  very  much ; 
but  as  the  times  are,  cannot.  Pray  write  at  every  opportunity,  for  we  long  to  hear  from  you 
and  little  Nancy.  Wo  heard  you  had  a  tedious  time  home,  and  were  taken  again.  We  hope 
all  these  things  wUl  work  together  for  your  good.  We  are  old,  and  the  times  are  such,  we 
never  expect  to  see  you  again.  Let  us  endeavor  to  become  the  true  children  of  God,  so  as 
to  meet  in  the  Heavenly  Kingdom,  and  never  more  he  separated." 

t  Dea.  Harris  was  living  in  1834,  affcd  86, 


DEXTER. 


ME.  THOMAS  DEXTER,  SENIOR. 

Of  the  early  life  of  Mr.  Dexter,  little  is  known.  He  came 
over,  either  with  Mr.  Endicott  in  1629,  or,  in  the  fleet,  with  Gov. 
Winthrop,  the  following  year,  bringing  with  him  his  wife,  and  chil- 
dren, and  several  servants.  He  had  received  a  good  education, 
and  wrote  a  beautiful  court-hand  ;  was  a  man  of  great  energy 
of  character,  public  spirited,  and  ever  ready  to  contribute  of  his 
means,  and  use  his  influence  in  promoting  any  enterprise  which  he 
judged  to  be  for  the  interest  of  the  infant  colony.  He  did  his 
own  thinking,  and  was  independent  and  fearless  in  the  expression 
of  his  opinions.  Such  were  the  leading  traits  in  the  character  of 
Mr.  Dexter  ;  but  it  must  be  admitted  that  his  energy  of  character 
bordered  on  stubbornness,  and  his  independence  of  thought,  on 
indiscretion  and  self-will. 

In  the  year  1630,  in  the  prime  of  life,  and  with  ample  means, 
he  settled  on  a  farm  of  eight  hundred  acres,  in  the  town  of  Lynn. 
In  the  cultivation  of  his  lands  he  employed  many  servants,  and 
was  called,  by  way  of  eminence,  Farmer  Dexter.  His  house  was 
on  the  west  side  of  Saugus  river,  above  where  the  iron  works 
were  afterward  built.  In  1633,  he  built  a  weir  across  the  Saugus 
river,  for  the  purpose  of  taking  bass  and'alewives,  of  which  many 
were  dried  and  smoked  for  shipment.  He  also  built  a  mill,  and 
bridge  across  the  Saugus.  In  these  enterprises  he  was  the  man- 
ager, and  principal  owner. 

Mr.  Dexter  was  admitted  to  be  a  freeman  of  the  Massachu- 
setts Colony  May  18,  1631  ;  but  disfranchised  March  4,  1633, 
therefore  his  name  does  not  appear  on  the  printed  list.  He  had 
many  quarrels,  and  many  vexatious  law-suits.  If  the  contro- 
versies respecting  the  iron  works,  in  which  he  was  a  large  owner, 

*  One  of  Mr.  Dexter's  descendants  writes  that  the  absence  of  all  reference  to  any  wife  in 
numerons  deeds,  dating  back  to  1639,  seems  to  make  it  certain  that  he  was  a  widower  when 
he  came  over,  or  lost  nis  wife  early  in  his  residence  here.  The  fact  that  his  youngest 
daughter  was  marriagable  in  1639,  would  seem  also  necessarily  to  throw  hack  his  birth  date 
to  1590-1595 ;  which  would  make  him  81  to  86  when  he  died . 


'316         GKNEALOGIOAL    NOTES    OF    BARNSTABLE    FAMILIES. 

are  included  in  the  records  and  documents,  which  have  been  pre- 
served, in  which  he  had  an  interest,  they  would  fill  a  moderate 
sized  volumn.  The  reader  of  these  records  should  remember  that 
they  were  made  by  the  personal  enemies  of  Mr.  Dexter,  and  though 
the"^  facts  may  be  accurately  stated,  yet  some  allowance  is  to  be 
made  for  the  hostile  feeling  which  existed  in  the  minds  of  the 
writers. 

In  March,  1631,  he  had  a  quarrel  with  Gov.  Endicott,  in  which 
the  Salem  Magistrate  struck  Mr.  Dexter,  who  complained  to  the 
Court  at  Boston.  Mr.  Endicott  m  his  defence,  says,  "I  hear  I 
am  much  complained  of  by  goodman  Dexter  for  striking  him  ; 
understanding  since  it  is  not  lawful  for  a  justice  of  the  peace  to 
strike.  But  if  you  had  seen  the  manner  of  his  carriage,  with  such 
daring  of  me,  with  his  arms  akimbo,  it  would  have  provoked  a 
very  patient  man.  He  has  given  out,  if  I  had  a  purse  he  would 
make  me  empty  it,  and  if  he  cannot  have  justice  here,  he  will  do 
wonders  in  England  ;  and  if  he  cannot  prevail  there,  he  will  try  it 
out  with  me  here  at  blows.  If  it  were  lawful  for  me  to  try  it  at 
blows,  and  he  a  fit  man  for  me  to  deal  with,  you  would  not  hear 
me  complain."  The  jury  to  whom  the  case  was  referred,  gave  on 
the  3d  of  May,  1631,  a  verdict  for  Mr.  Dexter,  assessing  the 
damage  at  £10  sterling  ($44.44.) 

In  March,  1633,  the  court  ordered  that  Mr.  Dexter  "be  set  in 
the  bilbows,  disfranchised,  and  fined  £10  sterling,  for  speaking 
reproachful  and  seditious  words  against  the  government  here 
established."  The  bilbows  were  a  kind  of  stocks  set  up  near  the 
meeting-house  in  Lynn,  in  which  the  hands  and  feet  of  the  culprit 
were  confined 


"A  Bastile,  made  to  imprison  hands, 
By  strange  enchantment  made  to  fetter, 
The  lesser  parts,  and  free  the  greater." 

Mr.  Dexter,  having  been  insulted  by  Samuel  Hutchinson,  he 
met  him  one  day  on  the  road,  "and  jumping  from  his  horse,  he 
bestowed  about  twenty  blows  on  his  head  and  shoulders,  to  the  no 
small  danger  and  deray  of  his  senses,  as  well  as  sensibilities." 

These  facts  show  that  Mr.  Dexter  was  not  a  meek  man.  He  had 
many  difficulties  with  his  neighbors,  and  one  of  the  vexatious  law- 
suits in  which  he  was  engaged,  he  left  as  a  heritage  to  his  children 
and  to  his  grand-children.  Whether  justice  was  or  was  not  on  his 
side  in  all  these  cases,  the  troubles  that  environed  him  at  Lynn, 
induced  him  to  seek  a  quieter  home.  In  1637,  he  and  nine  of  his 
neighbors  obtained  from  the  Plymouth  Colony  Court  a  grant  of 
the  township  of  Sandwich.  He  went  there  that  year,  and  with 
the  commendable  public  spirit  for  which  he  had  ever  been  distin- 
guished built  the  first  grist  mill  erected  in  that  town.  He  did  not 
remain  long,  for  in  1638,  the  next  year,  he  had  350  acres  of  land 
assigned     him     as    one   of     the   inhabitants    of     Lynn,    and    he 


GENEALOGICAL    NOTKS    OF    BAKNSTABLB    FAMILIES.         317 

remained  there  certainly  till  1646,  when  he  was  indicted  by 
the  Court  of  Quarter  Sessions  as  a  common  sleeper  at  meetings. 
It  is  probable  that  he  left  his  son  Thomas,  not  then  of  age,  at 
Sandwich,  to  take  the  care  of  his  property  in  that  town,  and  that 
he  returned  to  Lynn.  At  Sandwich  he  had  lands  assigned  to  him 
in  the  first  division.  At  the  division  of  the  meadows  April  16, 
1640,  he  had  six  acres  assigned  to  him  for  his  mill,  and  "twenty- 
six  acres  if  he  come  here  to  live."  This  record  is  conclusive  evi- 
dence that  he  was  not  of  Sandwich  in  1640.  Mr.  Freeman,  in  his 
annals  of  that  town,  is  mistaken  in  his  statement  that  "he  was  one 
of  those  able  to  bear  arms  in  Sandwich  in  1643."  His  name  is 
not  on  the  list ;  neither  is  that  of  his  son  Thomas  who  does  not 
appear  to  have  been  of  Sandwich  that  year.  From  the  year  1640 
to  March  1646,  neither  the  father  or  the  son  are  named  in  the 
Colony  Records  as  residents  in  Sandwich,  though  the  father  con- 
tinued to  own  the  mill,  and  was  one  of  the  proprietors  of  the 
lands. 

March  3,  1645-6,  Thomas  Dexter,  of  Sandwich,  was  pre- 
sented by  the  grand  jury,  for  conveying  away  a  horse  that  had 
been  pressed  for  the  country  use.  Whether  this  was  the  father  or 
son,  does  not  appear,  nor  is  it  material,  for  both  were  residents  in 
Sandwich  that  year.  The  father  did  not  remain  long  in  Sandwich. 
Mr.  Freeman  saj^s  he  left  in  1648,  he  was  certainly  of  Barnstable 
in  1651,  and  was  an  inhabitant  of  thattown  till  1670,  probably  till 
1675. 

About  the  year  1 646  he  purchased  two  farms  in  Barnstable. 
One  to  which  reference  has  been  frequently  had  in  these  articles, 
situate  on  the  south-east  of  the  Blossom  farm,  and  adjoining  to 
the  mill  stream,*  and  afterwards  owned  and  occupied  by  William 
Dexter,  probably  his  son,  and  the  other  on  the  north-eastern 
declivity  of  Scorton  Hill.  His  dwelling  house  was  situate  on  the 
north  side  of  the  old  county  road,  and  commanded  an  extensive 
prospect  of  the  country  for  miles  around. 

He  led  a  quiet  life  in  Barnstable,  his  name  occasionally 
appears  as  a  juryman,  and  as  a  surety  for  the  persecuted  Quakers, 
showing  that  he  did  not  sympathize  with  the  Barlow  party.  He 
could  not,  however,  entirely  refrain  from  engaging  in  law  suits. 
At  the  March  term  of  the  Court  in  1648-9,  he  had  eight  cases, 
principally  for  the  collection  of  debts,  and  he  recovered  in  seven. 
In  1653,  he  had  a  controversy  with  his  neighbors  respecting  the 


*  In  my  investigations,  I  have  been  unable  to  ascertain  who  built  the  first  mill  ou  tlie 
stream  now  known  as  Jones's  mill  stream  at  West  Barnstable.  Mr.  Dexter's  lands  were 
partly  bounded  by  that  stream,  and  I  should  not  be  surprised  if  some  future  investifrator 
should  ascertain  that  he  built  the  first  mill  at  West  Barnstable,  also  the  Old  Stone  Fort,  to 
which  frequent  reference  is  made  in  the  Crocker  article. 

On  Wednesday  last  1  was  at  Sandwich,  and  for  the  first  time  examined  the  records  of 
that  towu  for  information  respecting  the  Dexter  family.  I  found  much  that  I  regret  that  I 
had  not  known  before  writing  this  article.  The  records,  in  almost  every  instance,  and  I  am 
not  certain  but  in  every  instance,  refer  to  the  second  Thomas  Dexter.  A  deed  of  his  to  the 
town  of  Sandwich,  is  an  exceedingly  interesting  document. 


318         GENEALOGICAL    NOTES    OF    BAKN8TABLE    FAMILIES. 

boundaries  of  his  lands,  and  at  his  request  two  men  were  appointed 
by  the  Colony  Court,  "to  set  at  rights  the  lines  or  ranges,"  pro- 
vided the  parties  cannot  agree  among  themselves.  It  was  after- 
wards referred  to  Barnard  Lumbard. 

He  had,  soon  after  his  settlement  in  Barnstable,  a  contro- 
versey  with  the  inhabitants,  which  remained  unsettled  for  many 
years.  As  the  case  has  a  historical  interest  and  illustrates  the 
leading  trait  in  his  character,  I  shall  give  some  details.  Some 
years  prior  to  1652,  he  built  a  causeway  across  his  own  meadow, 
and  a  bridge  across  Scorton  Creek,  and  extended  the  causeway  to 
the  upland  on  Scorton  Neck,  at  the  place  where  the  new  County 
road  now  passes  over.  A  bridge  and  causeway  to  Scorton  Neck 
had  previously  been  built  by  Sandwich  men,  about  half  a  mile 
farther  west,  which  had  been  used  in  common  by  them  and  the 
inhabitants  of  Barnstable.  Mr.  Dexter's  bridge  shortened  the 
distance  which  the  latter  had  to  travel  to  their  meadows  on  Scorton 
Neck,  and  they  claimed  a  right  to  pass  over  the  new  bridge  with- 
out having  assisted  in  the  building,  and  without  paying  toll ; 
because  in  the  year  1652,  according  to  the  Barnstable  town 
records,  "It  was  agreed  upon  by  the  Jury  for  the  highways, 
Anthony  Annable  being  the  foreman  thereof,  that  a  Highway  two 
rod  broad  go  from  the  point  of  upland  of  Samuel  Fuller's 
through  the  marsh  of  Thomas  Dexter's  to  the  main  creek,  and  so 
cross  the  marshes  as  far  as  the  marsh .  of  Samuel  Hinckley's. 
Also,  it  is  agreed  by  the  said  Jury  that  a  foot  way  go  from 
Lieutenant  Fuller's  house  across  the  creek,  where  Mr.  Dexter's 
bridge  was,  and  so  straight  along  to  Mr.  Bursley's  bridge,  leaving 
Mr.  Dexter's  orchard  on  the  right  hand,  and  Goodman  Fitzrandles 
house  on  the  left  hand." 

The  highway  laid  out  passed  on  the  west  side  of  Dexter's 
farm,  southerly  to  the  old  County  road.  The  foot  way  corre- 
sponds in  locations  with  the  new  County  road,  till  it  joins  the 
old,  and  thence  by  the  latter  to  Bursley's  bridge. 

The  matter  was  a  cause  of  diflSculty,  and  remained  unsettled 
till  Obtober  5,  1656,  when  the  Plymouth  Colony  Court  appointed 
and  requested  M.  Prence,  and  Capt.  Cudworth,  to  view  the  place 
in  controversy,  and  if  they  they  can,  put  an  end  to  it,  and  if  they 
cannot,  to  make  report  unto  the  Court  of  the  state  of  the 
matter. 

On  the  10th  of  the  same  month  the  parties  interested,  namely, 
Thomas  Dexter,  Senior,  of  the  one  part,  and  of  the  other,  Samuel 
Hinckley,  William  Crocker,  Samuel  Fuller,  Peter  Blossom, 
Thomas  Hinckley,  Robert  Parker,  John  Chipman,  and  Robert 
Linnell,  appeared  on  the  premises  iDefore  Mr.  Thomas  Prence  and 
Capt.  James  Cudworth,  and  the  case  that  had  caused  so  much 
trouble,  was  "issued"  to  the  satisfaction  of  all  the  parties.  1, 
It  was  agreed,  "that  all  that  are  interested   in  any   marsh  above 


GENEALOGICAL    NOTES    OF    BARNSTABLE    FAMILIES.         319 

the  aforesaid  marsh,  that  needs  the  privilege  of  the  said  way, 
shall  pay  unto  the  said  Thomas  Dexter  six  pence  per  acre,  in  lieu 
and  full  recompense  for  the  said  marsh  wayed,  forever,  himself 
and  such  others  as  make  use  thereof,  to  make  and  repair  the  said 
way,  proportionable  to  the  use  made  of  it — the  gates  or  bars  to  be 
shut  after  any  one's  use  thereof  by  them,  to  prevent  damage." 

Right  in  this  case,  is  apparent.  If  Thomas  Dexter  built,  as 
he  did,  a  causeway  and  bridge  on  his  own  meadow,  no  one  had  a 
legal  right  to  use  the  same  without  his  consent.  The  owners  of 
the  meadows  on  Scorton  Neck  had  a  right  of  way  to  the 
same,  and  the  town  had  a  legal  right  to  lay  out  such  way  ;  and  if 
they  laid  it  out  over  Thomas  Dexter's  private  way,  he  had  a  legal 
right  to  claim  compensation.  This  he  claimed,  and  the  parties 
interested  refused  to  pay.  The  ^referees  decided  the  case  in  his 
favor,  giving  him  six  pence  an  acre,  or  about  six  dollars  in  all,  not 
enough  to  pay  the  law  expenses  he  probably  incurred.  He  had 
legal  right  on  his  side  ;  but  there  were  other  considerations  which 
should  have  deterred  him  from  exacting  "the  pound  of  flesh."  It 
was  the  only  convenient  place  to  build  a  bridge,  it  was  the  natural 
outlet  of  the  meadows  above,  and  before  the  bridge  was  built  the 
owners  had  sometimes  crossed  over  at  that  place.  It  was  not  an  act 
of  good  neighborhood  on  the  part  of  Mr.  Dexter  to  maintain  a 
quarrel  more  than  five  years,  that  he  might  have  his  own  way. 

In  the  following  year,  1657,  he  commenced  his  lawsuit  against 
the  inhabitants  of  the  town  of  Lynn  for  the  possession  of  Nahant, 
which  he  claimed  as  his  private  properly  by  virtue  of  purchase 
made  about  the  year  1637,  of  the  Indian  Sachem,  Poquanum,  or 
Black  Will,  for  a  suit  of  clothes.  This  was  a  mercantile  specula- 
tion, and  the  law  suits  which  it  produced  were  very  expensive. 
In  February  1657,  the  inhabitants  of  Lynn  voted  to  divide  Nahant 
among  the  householders,  to  each  an  equal  share,  and  Mr.  Dexter 
thereupon  brought  an  action  against  the  town  for  taking  possession 
and  occupying  his  property.  He  had,  up  to  that  time,  manu- 
factured tar  from  the  pine  trees  ;  and  the  town  had  also  exercised 
some  rights  of  ownership.  This  unusual  mode  of  division  made 
every  householder  an  interested  party  against  Mr.  Dexter,  who 
was  then  a  non-resident.  The  court  decided  in  favor  of  the 
defendants,  and  Mr.  Dexter  appealed  to  the  Assistants,  who  con- 
firmed the  judgment  of  the  lower  court.  Whatever  might  have 
been  the  justice  of  his  claim,  it  would  have  been  difficult  for  him 
to  have  obtained  a  verdict  where  nearly  all  the  witnesses  in  the 
case  liad  an  adverse  interest.* 

After  his  death  his  administrators,  Capt.  James  Oliver,  his 
son-in-law,  an  eminent  merchant  of    Boston,  and  his  grandson, 

*  The  law  forbidding  purchases  of  land  from  the  Indians  except  by  public  permission, 
had  not  been  passed  when  Mr.  Dexter  bought  Nahant ;  so  that  it  would  seem  that  he  had  a 
legal  l-ight  to  make  the  purchase.  S. 


320         GENEALOGICAL    NOTES    OF    BAKN8TABLE    FAMILIES. 

Thomas,  of  Sandwich,  were  not  satisfied  with  the  decisions  of  the 
courts,  and  in  1678,  brought  another  action,  and  in  1695,  after  the 
death  of  Thomas  Dexter,  3d,  another  was  brought  all  with  like 
results.  These  suits  continued  at  intervals  through  a  series  of 
thirty-eight  years,  were  very  expensive,  and  the  Dexters  being  the 
losing  party,  their  costs  must  have  amounted  to  a  large  sum.  It 
was  the  settled  policy  of  the  first  settlers,  that  all  purchases  of 
lands  from  the  Indians,  should  be  by  virtue  of  public  authority. 
Mr.  Dexter  was  not  so  authorized,  and  therefore  had  no  legal 
right  to  make  the  purchase. 

In  1657,  Mr.  Dexter  took  the  oath  of  fidelity,  and  was 
admitted  a  freeman  of  the  Plymouth  Colony  June  1,  1658.  For 
the  succeeding  eighteen  years  he  appears  to  have  lived  a  quiet, 
retired  life,  on  his  farm  at  Scorton  Hill.  He  had  passed  that 
period  in  life  when  men  usually  take  an  active  and  leading  part  in 
business  or  in  politics.  Notwithstanding  his  expensive  law  suits, 
he  had  ample  means  remaining.  During  his  life,  he  appears  to 
have  conveyed  his  mill  and  his  large  real  estate  in  Sandwich  to  his 
son  Thomas,  and  his  West  Barnstable  farm  to  William,  retaining 
his  Scorton  Hill  farm  and  his  personal  estate,  for  his  own  use. 
The  latter  farm  he  sold  about  the  year  1675  to  William  Troop  and 
removed  to  Boston  that  he  might  spend  his  last  days  in  the  family 
of  a  married  daughter,  where  he  died  in  1677  at  an  advanced  age. 
No  attempt  has  been  made  to  veil  his  faults — he  did  not  bury  his 
talent  in  a  napkin — and  in  estimating  his  character,  we  must 
inquire  what  he  did,  not  what  he  might  have  done.  Who  did 
more  than  Thomas  Dexter  to  promote  the  interests  of  the  infant 
settlement  at  Lynn  ?  who  more  at  Sandwich  ?  Others,  perhaps, 
did  as  much,  none  more.  He  knew  this,  and  his  self  esteem  and 
love  of  approbation,  prompted  him  to  resist  those  who  sought  to 
appropriate  to  themselves  without  compensation,  the  benefits  of 
the  improvements  which  he  had  been  the  principal  party  to  intro- 
duce. When  at  Lynn,  he  built  a  weir  across  the  Saugus  river, 
for  the  benefit  of  the  fisheries,  a  grist  mill,  a  bridge  across  the 
Saugus,  and  was  foremost  in  establishing  the  iron  works  in  1643  ; 
and  at  Sandwich  he  built  a  grist  mill,  and  at  Barnstable  a  cause- 
way and  bridge  across  Scorton  Creek  and  marshes ;  all  improve- 
ments in  which  the  public  took  a  deep  interest.  For  these  acts,  he 
is  deserving  of  credit  and  they  will  forever  embalm  his  memory. 
His  harsh  and  censorious  spirit  created  enemies,  where  a  more 
conciliatory  course  would  have  made  friends.  Vinegar  was  an 
element  of  his  character,  and  no  alchymist  could  have  transmitted 
it  into  oil.  He  was  a  member  of  the  Puritan  Church  ;  yet  tolerant 
and  liberal  in  his  views.  No  immorality  was  ever  laid  to  his 
charge,  and  judging  him  by  the  rule  laid  down  by  the  Great 
Teacher  in  the  parable  of  the  ten  talents,  we  must  decide  that  he 
was  a  useful  man  in  his  day  and  therefore  entitled  to  the  respect 
of  posterity. 


GENEALOGICAL,    JSOTES    OF    BAEN8TABLE    FAMILIES.         321 

Of  the  family  of  Mr.  Thomas  Dexter,  Senior,  very  little  is 
certainly  known.  Mr.  Lewis,  the  historian  of  Lynn,  was  unable 
to  furnish  anything  that  was  certain  and  reliable,  and  the  undefati- 
gable  Mr.  Savage  gives  but  a  meagre  account  of  his  family.  Mr. 
Freeman  repeats  the  statements  of  his  predecessors,  adding  very 
little  to  the  information  furnished  by  them.  It  is  surprising  that 
so  little  should  be  known  of  the  family  of  so  noted  a  man  as  Mr. 
Dexter. 

It  is  certain  that  he  had 

I.  Thomas,  born  in  England,  settled  in  Sandwich. 

II.  Mary,  who  married  Oct.  1639,  Mr.  John  Frend,  who  died 
young.  Before  Aug.  1655,  as  is  show  by  a  deed  in  Suffolk 
Registry,  she  had  married  Capt.  James  Oliver.  They  left  no 
children. 

And  he  probably  had 

III.  William,  who  settled  in  Barnstable. 

IV.  Francis,  who  married  Richard  Wooddy.  They  had  eight  chil- 
dren. They  lived  some  years  in  Roxbury.  In  1696,  Mary 
and  Frances,  who  were  then  widows,  brought  the,  fourth  suit 
in  behalf  of  their  father's  claim,  upon  Nahant,  against  the 
town  of  Lynn,  once  more  in  vain. 

In  regard  to  the  two  last  named,  I  say  probably,  yet  I  have 
no  reason  to  doubt  the  statement  that  William  was  the  son;  of 
Thomas.  Messrs.  Lewis,  Savage,  and  Freeman,  say  he  was  his 
son;  but,  after  the  most  careful  research,  I  cannot  find  positive 
evidence  that  such  was  the  fact. 

Mr.  Drake,  the  able  historian  of  Boston,  has  forwarded  to. 
me  the  following  abstracts,  from  the  records  in  the.  Probate  Office 
of  the  County  of  Suffolk,  which  furnish  additional ,  information  to 
what  was  before  known  : 

"Feb.  9,  1676-7.  Power  of  administration  to  the  estate  of 
Thomas  Dexter,  Senior,  late  of  Boston,  deceased,  is  granted  to. 
Capt.  James  Oliver,  his  son-in-law,  and  Thomas  Dexter,  Jr.,  his 
grandson." 

"Nov.  1678,  Ensgne  Richard  Woodde  was  joined  with  Capt. . 
Oliver  in  this   administration,  in  room   of    Thomas   Dexter,  Jr., 
deceased." 

The  Rev.  Henry  M.  Dexter  of  Boston,  a  descendant,  furnishes 
the  following  abstract  of  the  inventory  of    the  estate  dated  April 
25,  1677.     ft  includes  merely  "so  much  as  is  due  by   bill  from 
William  Troop  of  Barnstable,  as  follows  : 
Payable  before  or  in  Nov.  1677,  £20 

u  14        a    u      u        1678,  20 

"  "      "  "     "      1679,  20 

"  "      "  "     "      1680,  10 

£70 


322    GENEALOGICAL  NOTES  OF  BARNSTABLE  EAMILIES. 

It  is  added,  "this  is  inventory  and  all  of  the  estate  that  is 
known  belonging  to  the  deceased  party  aforsaid,  only  a  claim  of 
some  lands  which  ly  within  the  bounds  of  Lynn  ;  the  value  whereof 
we  cannot  determine  at  present  until  further  insight  into  and 
known." 

The  "claim  of  some  lands"  was  for  Nahant,  which  was 
worthless  and  to  which  reference  has  already  been  had. 

These  two  extracts  prove  that  Thomas  Dexter,  Senior,  was  a 
resident  in  Boston  at  the  time  of  his  death,  that  he  died  the  latter 
part  of  1676  or  early  in  1677,  that  he  had  a  son  Thomas  and  a 
grand-son  Thomas,  "and  a  daughter  who  married  Capt.  James 
Oliver,  an  eminent  merchant  of  Boston. 

These  facts  enable  us  to  trace  one  branch  of  his  family  with 
certainty — that  of  his  son  Thomas — who  was  an  early  settler  in 
Sandwich,  and  died  there  Dec.  30,  1686.  He  died  intestate,  and 
his  estate  was  apprised  on  the  12th  of  the  following  January  by 
John  Chipman,  Stephen  Skiff,  and  William  Bassett  at  £491,5,  a 
very  large  estate  in  those  times.  He  owned  240  acres  of  land 
at  the  Plains,  valued  in  the  inventory  at  only  £12,  or  one 
shilling  an  acre.  He  owned  four  valuable  tracts  of  meadow, 
one  on  the  north  of  Town  Neck,  valued  at  £30 ;  one  at 
the  Islands  near  James  Allen's,  £90  ;  one  below  Mr.  John  Chip- 
man's  new  house,  £4 ;  and  one  at  Pine  islands,  £40.  He  owned 
two  dwelling-houses.  That  in  which  he  resided  (situated  about 
half  a  mile  southerly  from  the  Glass  Factory  village)  was  a  large 
two  story  building,  apprised  at  £40;  his  barn,  corn-house,  &c., 
£10  ;  his  home  lot  10  acres,  £30  ;  and  a  tract  of  20  acres  adjoin- 
ing, at  £30.  His  other  dwelling  was  occupied  by  his  son  John, 
and  the  farm  on  which  it  was  situated  is  described  as  consisting  of 
about  28  acres  of  "meane  land,"  and  "two  parcels  of  meadow  that 
belongs  to  that  Seate,"  estimated  at  8  acres,  all  apprised  at  £80. 
The  mill,  now  known  as  the  town  mill,  with  "all  her  apperten- 
ances,"  at  £50.  As  this  apprisment  was  carefully  made, 
and  was  the  basis  of  the  division  of  the  estate,  it  shows 
the  relative  value  of  different  article  at  that  time.  A  pair 
of  oxen  was  valued  at  £5,  and  a  negro  slave  at  four  times  that 
sum,  £20,  7  cows  and  one  steer,  £12  ;  28  sheep,  £5  ;  1  mare,  £2 ; 
1  colt,  10  shillings ;  his  silver  ware  at  £5,  5  shs. ;  and  his  house- 
hold furniture,  clothing,  tools,  &c.,  £25  10  shs. 

The  estate  was  settled  by  an  agreement  of  the  Ijeirs  in  writ- 
ing, dated  Feb.  16,  1686-7,  and  is  signed  by  the  widow  Elizabeth 
Dexter,  Senior,  John  Dexter,  son  of  Thomas  Dexter,  late  of 
Sandwich,  gentleman  deceased  in  his  own  rights,  Elizabeth  Dexter, 
Jr.,  in  her  right,  Daniel  Allen  of  Swansea,  in  the  right  of  Mary, 
his  wife,  and  by  Jonathan  Hallett,  in  the  right  of  Abigail,  his  wife. 
This  agreement  shows  that  Thomas  Dexter,  the  third  of  the  name, 
was  then  dead,  and  had  no  lineal  heir  surviving. 


UKMEALOGICAL,    NOTES    OF    BAKMSTABiJi    rAMlL,lJ<;s.         323 

June  1647,  Thomas  Dexter,  Jr.,  or  the  second  of  the  name, 
was  chosen  Constable  of  the  town  of  Sandwich,  a  fact  which  shows 
that  he  was  not  then  less  than  twenty-four  years  of  age,  and  that 
he  was  born  before  his  father  came  to  this  country.  The  exact 
date  when  he  became  a  permanent  resident,  and  an  inhabitant  of 
the  town  of  Sandwich,  1  am  unable  to  fix  with  certainty.  He  was 
not  of  Sandwich  in  1643,  but  probably  was  as  early  as  March 
1645.  The  Thomas  Dexter  named  as  one  of  the  inhabitants  of 
Sandwich  March  3,  1645-6,  was  probably  the  young  man,  because 
his  father  was  about  that  date  an  inhabitant  of  Lynn.  In  1648, 
he  kept  the  miJl  built  by  his  father  before  the  year  1640.  In  1647, 
he  was  constable  of  the  town  of  Sandwich.  In  1655,  he  was 
commissioned  by  the  Court,  at  the  request  of  the  inhabitants  of 
Sandwich,  Ensign  of  the  company  of  militia.  He  held  the  office 
many  years,  and  was  known  as  Ensign  Dexter,  and  by  this  title 
was  distinguished  fi-om  his  father,  and  his  son  of  the  same  name. 
He  was  often  on  the  grand  and  petty  juries,  was  surveyor  of  high- 
ways, and  held  other  municipal  ofHces.  In  1680,  he  was  licenced 
to  keep  an  ordinary  or  public  house  for  the  entertainment  of 
strangers. 

He  did  not  inherit  the  litigious  spirit  of  his  father,  though  he 
did  inherit  some  of  his  quarrels  respecting  lands  where  "no  fences, 
parted  fields,  noi-  marks,  nor  bounds,  distinguished  acres  of  litig- 
ious grounds."  These,  however,  were  amicably  adjusted  by 
referees,  not  by  expensive  law  suits.  After  1655,  he  was,  accord- 
ing to  the  usages  of  the  time,  entitled  to  the  honor  of  being  styled 
Mister,  and  in  the  latter  part  of  his  life,  being  a  large  land-holder, 
was  styled  gentleman.  From  what  is  left  on  record  respecting 
him,  he  appears  to  have  been  a  worthy  man  ;  enterprising,  useful, 
a  good  neighbor,  and  a  good  citizen. 

Ensign  Thomas  Dexter  married,  Nov.  8,  1648,  Mary  or 
Elizabeth  Vincent.  The  record  of  the  marriage  is  mutilated,  but 
this  seems  to  be  its  true  reading.  (In  early  times  Mary  and 
Elizabeth  were  considered  synonymous  or  interchangeable.  I  have 
found  several  similar  cases  ;  but  am  unabled  to  give  reason.) 

The  children  of  Ensign  Thomas  Dexter,  born  in  Sandwich, 
were  : 

I.  Mary,  born  Aug.  11,  1649.  She  married  Daniel  Allen  of 
Sandwich  and  removed  to  Swansey,  where  she  had  Elizabeth 
28th  Sept.  1673,  and  Christian  26th  Jan.  1674-5,  and  probably 
others.  After  the  close  of  the  Indian  war  she  returned  to 
Swansey.  Mr.  Savage  and- Mr.  Freeman  both  err  in  saying 
that  Mary  was  a  daughter  of  Thomas  Dexter,  Senior,  and  that 
she  was  born  in  Barnstable.  The  record  is  perfectly  clear 
and  distinct. 

II.  Elizabeth,  born  Sept.  21,  1651,  and  died  young.  (Mr.  Free- 
man savs,  "said  to  have  been  a  maiden  in  1767.") 


324         GENEALOGICAL    NOTES    OF    BARNSTABLE    FAMILIES. 

III.  Thomas.  His  birth  does  not  appear  on  the  record,  probably 
in  1653.  He  died,  without  issue,  in  1679.  He  was  appointed, 
Feb.  9,  1676-7,  joint  administrator  with  Capt.  James  Oliver  of 
Boston,  on  his  grandfather's  estate. 

IV.  John,  born  about  the  year  1656,  resided  in  Sandwich.  He 
married,  Nov.  1682,  Mehitabel,  daughter  of  the  second 
Andrew  Hallett  of  Yarmouth,  and  had  Elizabeth  Nov.  2,  1683  ; 
Thomas,  Aug.  26,  1686  ;  Abigail,  May  26,  1689  ;  John,  Sept. 
11,  1692.  From  Sandwich  he  removed  to  Portsmouth,  E.  I., 
and  was  there  living  24th  June  1717  (Savage.)  Mr.  Free- 
man makes  a  singular  mistake  in  regard  to  Thomas  of  this 
family.  He  says,  page  79,  "Thomas,  born  Aug.  26,  1686, 
who  is  afterwards  called  Jr. ,  whilst  his  uncle  Thomas  is  called 
Senior."  When  this  Thomas  was  born,  his  uncle  Thomas 
had  been  dead  seven  years,  and  his  grandfather  Thomas  died 
before  the  child  was  six  months  old,  and  the  necessity  for  the 
use  of  the  terms  in  not  seen. 

V.  Elizabeth,  born  7th  April  1660.  She  does  not  appear  to  have 
married.  She  was  single  at  the  time  of  the  settlement  of  her 
father's  estate,  Feb.  16,  1686-7.  Her  mother,  who  died 
March  19,  1713-14,  bequeaths  to  Elizabeth  in  her  will  dated 
Aug.  29,  1689,  her  whole  estate.  This  will  was  proved  April 
8, 1714,  and  the  daughter  seems  to  have  then  been  living,  and 
unmarried. 

VI.  Abigail,  June  12,  1663,  married,  Jan.  30,  1684-5,  Jonathan 
Hallett  of  Yarmouth,  had  eight  children,  and  died  Sept.  2, 
1715,  aged  52,  and  is  buried  in  the  old  grave  yard  in 
Yarmouth. 

William  Dexter  was  in  Barnstable  in  1657.  He  probably 
was  a  son  of  Thomas  Dexter,  Senior,  and  came  with  bis  father  to 
Barnstable  about  the  year  1650.  His  farm  was  originally  owned 
by  his  father.  He  removed  to  Rochester  about  the  year  1690, 
where  he  died  in  1694  intestate,  and  his  estate  was  settled  by 
mutual  agreement  between  the  widow  Sarah  and  her  children, 
Stephen,  Phillip,  James,  Thomas,  John,  and  Benjamin  Dexter, 
and  her  daughter  Mary,  wife  of  Moses  Barlow.  James,  Thomas 
and  John,  had  the  Rochester  lauds,  and  Stephen,  Phillip  and 
Benjamin,  the  Barnstable  estate.  In  the  division  of  the  meadows 
in  1694  William  had  3  acres  assigned  him  by  the  committee  of  the 
town,  which  was  reduced  to  two  by  the  arbitrators  in  1697.  Ste- 
phen and  Phillip,  the  only  children  of  William  of  sufficient  age, 
were  assigned  2  acres  each.  In  1703  Phillip  had  removed  to  Fal- 
mouth, and  Stephen  was  the  only  one  of  the  name  who  remained 
in  town.  He  had  48  shares  alloted  to  him  in  the  division  of  the 
common  lands,  considerably  more  than  the  average,  showing  him 
to  be  a  man  of  good  estate.     He  married  Sarah  Vincent  July  1653, 


GENEALOGICAL    NOTES    OF   BAENSTABLE    FAMILIES.         325 

and  his  children  born  in  Barnstable  were  : 

I.  Mary,  Jan.  1654,  married  Moses  Barlow  and  removed  to 
Rochester. 

II.  Stephen,  May  1657,  married  Ann  Saunders. 

III.  Phillip,  Sept.  1659,  removed  to  Falmoath. 

IV.  James,  May  1662,  married  Elizabeth  Tobey,  died  1697. 

V.  Thomas,  July  1665,  married  Sarah  C,  March  1702-3.  Died 
July  31,  1744.     Left  no  issue. 

VI.  John,  Aug.  1668. 

VII.  Benjamin,  Feb.  1670,  removed  to  Rochester,  married  Mary 
Miller  of  Rochester  July  17,  1695.  His  son,  Dea.  Seth, 
was  the  great  grandfather  of  Rev.  Henry  M.  Dexter  of 
Boston. 

Stephen  Dexter,  son  of  William,  born  in  Barnstable  May 
1657,  married,  27th  April,  1696,  Anna  Saunders.  He  resided  on 
the  farm  of  his  grandfather  Thomas  at  Dexter's  Lane,  West 
Barnstable,  and  had, 

I.  Mary,  24th  Aug.  1696,  married  March  5,  1717-18,  Samuel 
Chard. 

II.  A  son,  22d  Dec.  1698,  died  January  following. 

III.  Abigail,  13th  May,  1699. 

IV.  Content,  5th  Feb.  1701,  married  Eben  Landers  of  Roches- 
ter, 1725. 

V.  Anna,  9th  March  1702-3,  married  John  Williams  1725. 

VI.  Sarah,  1st  June,  1705. 

VII.  Stephen,  26th  July  1707,  married  Abigail  Collier  1736. 
VTII.    Mercy,   5th  July   1709.     June  1737,  she  was  living  with 

Jonathan  Crocker,  Senior,  who  gave  her  £5  in  his  will. 

IX.  Miriam,  8th  March,  1712. 

X.  Cornelius,  21st  March,  1713-14.  He  did  not  marry.  With 
his  sister  Molly,  he  lived  in  a  two-story  single  house  on  the 
east  side  of  Dexter's  Lane,  opposite  the  Mill  Pond. 

Stephen  Dexter,  in  his  will  dated  March  17,  1729-30, 
names  his  wife  Ann,  his  son  Stephen,  to  whom  he  gave  his  home- 
stead, son  Cornelius,  and  daughters  Abigail,  Content,  Sarah, 
Mercy  and  Miriam.  Also  grand-daughter  Ann  Williams  and 
grand-children  David  and  Elizabeth  Cheard. 

Philip  Dexter  removed  to  Falmouth,  and  in  his  will,  proved 
June  10,  1741,  names  his  wife  Alice,  sons  Joseph  and  Phillip,  and 
son  Jabez  of  Rochester,  and  five  other  children.  Also  a  son  John 
who  died  1723.     He  owned  a  mill. 

James  Dexter  married  Elizabeth  Tobey  and  removed  to 
Rochester.  He  died  in  1697,  leaving  a  daughter  Elizabeth  and  a 
posthumous  child.     His  widow  married  Nathan  Hamond. 

Mr.  John  Dexter  was  the  last  of  the  name  in  Barnstable. 
(See  Childs.) 


326  GEN»ALOQICAL    NOTES    OF    BARNSTABLE    FAMILIES. 

A  John  Dexter  of  Rochester,  a  blacksmith,  settled  in  Yar- 
mouth. He  owned  the  brick  house  near  the  Congregational 
meeting  house.  He  married  1st,  Bethia  Vincent  in  1748,  and  2d, 
Phillippe  Vincent  In  17.58.  He  had  Hannah  Sept.  7,  1749  ;  Isaac 
Oct.  7,  1751  ;  and  John  June  4,  1759.  He  has  descendants  in 
Nova  Scotia. 


DEAN. 


Eev.  Mr.  Dean  in  his  history  of  Scituate,  states  that  Jonas 
Deane  was  in  that  town  in  1690,  that  he  was  called  Taunton  Dean, 
and  that  he  came  from  Taunton,  in  England.  He  died  in  1697, 
leaving  a  widow  Eunice,  who  married  in  1701,  Dea.  James  Torrey, 
Town  Clerk.  His  children  were  Thomas,  born  Oct.  29, 1691,  and 
Ephraim,  born  May  22,  1695.  Ephraim  married  Ann  and  settled 
in  Provincetown,  and  had  Eunice  Nov.  10,  1725  ;  Thankful  Feb. 
8,  1727-8  ;  Ann  March  4,  1730-31,  and  perhaps  others. 

Thomas  settled  in  Barnstable,  and  was  admitted,  May  23, 
1731,  a  member,  of  the  East  Church.  He  probably  resided  at 
South  Sea.  He  married  Lydia,  and  his  children  born  in  Barn- 
stable were : 

I.  Lydia,  born   July   7,    1728,  married  Joseph  Bearse  Oct.  12, 
1749. 

II.  Thomas,  April  19,  1730,  married  Abigail  Horton. 
ni.  Jonas,  Oct.  27,  1732. 

IV.  Ephraim,  Oct.  17,  1734. 

V.  William,  May  27,  1736. 

VI.  Eunice,  Nov.  4,  1737. 

All  baptized  at  the  East  Church. 

Thomas  Dean,  son  of  Thomas,  married  Abigail  Horton, 
(published  Feb.  29,  1752,)  and  had 

I.  Hannah,  born  Jan.  20,  1753. 

II.  Archelaus,  June  26,  1755 

After  the  latter  date  the  name  disappears  on  the  Barnstable 
records.  There  are  numerous  descendants  of  Thomas  Dean  of 
Barnstable ;  but  they  are  widely  scattered.  Archelaus  Dean 
Atwood,  Esq.,  of  Orrington,  Maine,  is  a  descendant. 


DIMMOGK. 


ELDER   THOMAS    DIMMOCK. 

Elder  Thomas  Dimmock  and  Rev.  Joseph  Hull,  are  the  par- 
ties named  in  the  grant  made  in  1639,  of  the  lands  in  the  town  of 
Barnstable.  A  previous  grant  has  been  made  to  Mr.  Richard 
Collieut  of  Dorchester,  by  the  Plymouth  Colony  Court,  and  sub- 
sequent events  make  it  probable,  if  not  certain,  that  Messrs. 
Dimmock  and  Hull  were  his  associates.  The  date  of  the  first 
grant  is  not  given  ;  but  it  was  made  either  in  the  latter  part  of  1 637, 
or  the  beginning  of  1638.  Soon  after  the  first  grant  was  made 
Mr.  Collieut  and  some  of  his  associates  came  to  Mattakeese, 
surveyed  certain  lands,  and  appropriated  some  of  them  to  his  own 
particular  use ;  but  he  never  became  an  inhabitant  of  the  town, 
and  failing  to  perform  his  part  of  the  contract,  the  grant  to  him 
was  rescinded  and  made  void  ;  but  individual  rights  acquired  by 
virtue  of  the  grant  to  him,  were  not  revoked. 

In  the  winter  of  1637-8  the  Rev.  Stephen  Batchiler  of  Lynn, 
and  a  small  company,  consisting  mostly  of  his  sons,  and  his  sons- 
in-law,  and  their  families,  attempted  to  make  a  settlement  in  the 
north-easterly  part  of  the  town,  at  a  place  yet  known  as  Oldtown  ; 
but  they  remained  only  a  few  months.     (See  Batchiler.) 

Some  of  those  who  came  with  Mr.  Collieut  in  1638,  remained 
and  became  permanent  residents,  for  in  March  1639,  Mr.  Dim- 
mock was  appointed  by  the  Colony  Court  to  exercise  the  Barn- 
stable men  in  their  arms,  proving  that  there  were  English  resi- 
dents in  the  town  at  that  time. 

April  1,  1639,  the  Court  ordered  that  only  such  persons  as 
were  then  at  Mattakeset  should  remain,  and  make  use  of  some 
land,  but  shall  not  divide  any  either  to  themselves  or  others,  nor 
receive  into  the  plantation  any  other  persons,  excepting  those  to 
whom  the  original  grant  was  made,  without  the  special  license  and 
approval  of  the  government. 

This  order  implies,  that  the  English  who  were  in  Barnstable 
April  1,  1639,  were  associates  of  Mr.  Collieut  and  restricts  them 
from  receiving  any  who  were  not  of  that  company. 


GENEALOGICAL    NOTES    OF    BARNSTABLE    FAMILIES.         329 

May  6,  1639.  "It  is  ordered  by  the  Court,  that  if  Mr.  Collicut 
do  come  in  his  own  person  to  inhabit  at  Mattakeeset  before  the 
General  Court  in  June  next  ensuing  ;  that  then  the  grant  shall  re- 
main firm  unto  them  ;  but,  if  he  fail  to  come  within  the  time  pre- 
fixed, that  then  their  grant  be  made  void,  and  the  lands  be  other- 
wise disposed  of." 

The  language  of  this  order  cannot  be  misunderstood.  The 
Court  had  granted  the  lands  at  Mattakeeset  to  Mr.  Collicut  and 
his  associates  on  the  usual  conditions,  namely,  that  they  should 
"see  to  the  receiving  in  of  such  persons  as  may  be  fit  to  live  to- 
gether there  in  the  fear  of  G-od,  and  obedience  to  our  sovereigne 
lord  the  King,  in  peace  and  love,  as  becometh  Christian  people  ;" 
that  they  should  "faithfully  dispose  of  such  equal  and  fit  portions 
of  lands  unto  them  and  every  of  them,  as  the  several  estates, 
ranks  and  qualities  of  such  persons  as  the  Almighty  in  his  provi- 
dence shall  send  in  amongst  them,  shall   require  ;  to   reserve,    for 

the  disposal  of  the  Court,  at  least acres   of   good   land,   with 

meadow  competent,  in  place  convenient,  and  to  make  returns  to 
the  Court  of  their  doings."  These  conditions  had  not  been  com- 
plied with — a  month's  notice  was  given — Mr.  Collicut  did  not 
come  in  person — and  the  Court  on  the  4th  of  June,  1639,  made 
void  the  grant  to  him  ;  but  not  to  his  associates  who  had  then  set- 
tled in  Barnstable.* 

As  Mr.  Dimmock  was  of  Dorchester  he  was  probably  one  of 
the  original  associates  of  Mr.  Collicut.  Mr.  Hull  and  Mr.  Burs- 
ley  of  Weymouth,  and  the  other  inhabitants  of  Barnstable,  prior 
to  Oct.  21,  1639,  with  a  few  exceptions  hereinafter  named,  be- 
longed to  the  same  company. 

Mattakeeset  was  incorporated  and  became  a  town  called  Barn- 
stable, on  the  4th  of  June  1639,  old  stile,  or  June  14th  new  stile, 
lam  aware  that  the  Eev.  JohnMellen,  Jr.,  in  his  Topographical  de- 
scription of  Barnstable,  published  in  1794  in  the  third  volume  of 
the  Massachusetts  Historical  Society's  collections,  says  :  "There 
is  no  account  to  be  found  of  the  first  settlement  made  in  this 
town.  Probably  there  was  none  made  much  before  its  incorpora- 
tion which  was  Sept.  3,  1639,  O.  S.  As  Mr.  Mellen  says,  there 
was  no  record  of  the  act  of  incorporation  made.  As  early  as  1685 
when  many  of  the  first  settlers  were  living,  Gov.  Hinckley  was 
appointed  a  committee  of  the  town,  to   examine   the   records   and 

*Mr.  Collicut  was  admitted  a  freeman  of  the  Massachusetts  Colony  March  4,  1632-3. 
He  was  a  deputy  to  the  General  Court  from  Dorchester  in  1636,  '37  and  '55.  Selectman  in 
1636.  His  business  arrangements  probably  prevented  him  from  coming  to  Barnstable,  as  he 
had  intended.  May  17, 1637,  about  the  time  he  and  his  associates  intended  to  remove,  he 
was  appointed  Commissaiy,  to  make  provisions  for  the  troops  employed  in  the  expedition 
against  the  Pequot  Indians.  In  1638  he  was  appointed  by  the  Court  to  rectify  the  bounds 
between  Dedham  and  Dorchester,  and  in  1641  to  run  the  south  line  of  the  State  adjoining 
Connecticut.  He  was  one  of  the  company  authorized  to  trade  with  the  Indians,  and  was 
much  employed  in  public  business.  He  removed  to  Boston  before  1656.  In  1669  he  was  of 
Falmouth,  now  Portland,  and  in  1672  of  Saco,  from  both  of  which  places  he  was  a  repre- 
sentative to  the  General  Court  in  the  years  named,  He  finally  returned  to  Boston,  where  he 
died  July  7, 1685,  aged  83,  and  was  Iniried  on  Copp's  Hill. 


330  GENEALOGICAL    NOTES    OF    BAKN8TABLE    FAMILIES. 

ascertain  the  conditions  on  which  the  grant  to  Messrs.  Hull  and 
Dimmock  was  made.  The  result  of  his  investigation  he  placed 
on  record.  He  found  no  record  of  the  grant  or  of  the  act  of  in- 
corporation, but  he  ascertained  that  both  were  made  in  the  year 
1639. 

Notwithstanding  there  is  no  record  of  the  day  on  which  Barn- 
stable was  incorporated  as  one  of  the  towns  of  Plymouth  Colony, 
the  date  can  be  fixed  with  certainty  by  other  evidence.  It  clearly 
appears  by  the  records  that  Barnstable  was  not  an  incorporated 
town  June  3,  1639,  0.  S.  As  has  been  already  stated,  a  certain 
conditional  grant  of  the  lands  had  been  made  to  Mr.  Collicut  and 
his  associates,  preliminary  to  the  organization  of  a  town  govern- 
ment ;  and  under  the  authority  of  that  grant,  about  fifteen  fam- 
ilies had  settled  within  the  limits  of  the  township.  Mr.  Dimmock 
was  authorized,  March  1639,  to  exercise  the  men  in  the  use  of 
arms,  because,  in  a  remote  settlement,  surrounded  by  bands  of 
Indians,  in  whose  friendship  reliance  could  not  be  placed,  a  mili- 
tary organization  was  of  prime  importance. 

The  terms  of  the  Court  order  of  May  6,  imply  that  some  of 
Mr.  Collicut's  associates  had  then  settled  at  Mattakeeset,  but  he 
himself,  it  is  emphatically  stated,  had  not,  and  he  was  allowed  till 
the  3d  of  June,  1639,  to  remove,  and  if  on  that  day  he  had  not 
removed,  the  grant  made  to  him  was  to  be  null  and  void.  He  did 
not  remove,  and  on  the  4th  day  of  June  the  grant  to  Mr.  Collicut 
was  declared  null  and  void,  and  the  grant  transferred  to  Rev. 
Joseph  Hull  and  Elder  Thomas  Dimmock.  Perhaps  the  reason 
for  not  making  a  record  was  this  ;  the  grant  was  a  simple  trans- 
fer from  Mr.  Collicut  as  principal  to  Messrs.  Dimmock  and  Hull 
two  of  his  associates.  As  no  change  had  been  made  in  the 
conditions,  no  record  was  deemed  necessary. 

Beside  the  above,  others  had  settled  within  the  present  territory 
of  the  town  of  Barnstable  prior  to  Jan.  1644,  but  had  removed  at 
that  date.  Rev.  Mr.  Bachiler  and  his  company,  as  above  stated, 
on  lands,  that  prior  to  1642,  were  included  within  the  bounds  of 
Yarmouth.  William  Chase  afterwards  owned  a  portion  of  those 
lands  occupied  by  Mr.  Bachiler,  and  as  he  had  a  garden  and  an 
orchard  thereon,  it  is  probable  that  he  resided  some  little  time  in 
Barnstable  prior  to  1644. 

President  Ezra  Stiles  presumes  that  George  Kendrick,  Thomas 
Lapham,  John  Stockbridge,  and  Simeon  Hoit  or  Hoyte,  removed 
with  Mr.  Lothrop  There  is  some  evidence  that  George  Kendrick 
was  one  of  the  first  who  came  to  Barnstable.  Mr.  Deane  says  he 
left  Scituate  in  1638.  He  is  named  as  of  Barnstable  in  1640,  but 
there  are  reasons  for  doubling  the  accuracy  of  the  date.  If  of 
Barnstable  he  removed  to  Boston  in  1640  or  soon  after.  Mr. 
Deane's  notice  of  Thomas  Lapham  is  imperfect.  He  was  one  of 
the  first  settlers  in  Scituate,  certainly  there  April    24,    I(i36,    and 


GENEALOGICAL   NOTES    OF   BAKN8TABLE    FAMILIES.         331 

died  in  that  town  in  1648.  I  find  no  evidence  tiiat  he  was  ever  of 
Barnstable.  Hoit  joined  Mr.  Lothrop's  church  in  Scituate  April 
19,  163.5,  sold  his  house  there  in  1636  or  soon  after.  About  the 
year  1639  he  removed  to  Winsor,  Conn.  If  of  Barnstable  he  was 
here  very  early.  John  Stockbridge  was  a  wheel  and  millwright, 
and  may  have  resided  in  Barnstable  as  a  workman.  I  find  no 
trace  of  evidence  that  he  was  ever  an  inhabitant.  He  afterwards 
was  of  Boston. 

In  addition  to  the  foregoing,  a  few  other  names  may  be  added, 
servants  of  the  first  settlers,  who  did  not  remain  long  and  were 
never  legal  inhabitants. 

Of  the  forty-five  heads  of  families  who  were  inhabitants  of 
Barnstable  in  Jan.  1643-4,  there  came  from 

Scituate,  26  23 

Duxbury,  2 

Hingham,  2  2 

Yarmouth,  1 

Boston,  3  3 

Weymouth,  1  1 

Charlestown,  1 

England,  9  9 


45  38 

Those  noted  as  from  England  had  probably  resided  in  Boston 
or  Dorchester  a  short  time  previously  to  coming  to  Barnstable. 

In  the  second  column  is  placed  the  number  of  the  families  who 
were  inhabitants  Oct.  21,  1639. 

Thus  far  the  proof  respecting  the  date  of  the  incorporation  of 
Barnstable  has  consisted  of  negations.  June  4,  1639,  O.  8.,  the 
General  Court  met  and  entered  on  its  records  that  Barnstable  was 
one  of  the  towns  within  the  Colony  of  New  Plymouth,  and  ap- 
pointed William  Casely  the  first  constable,  and  he  was  then  sworn 
into  oflice. 

These  quotations  from  the  records  show  conclusively  that  the 
Rev.  Mellen  was  mistaken  in  his  date,  and  equally  as  conclusively 
that  the  town  of  Barnstable  was  incorporated,  according  to  the 
usages  of  the  times,  on  the  fourteenth  day  of  June  1639,  new 
style.* 

That  Mr.  Dimmock  was  appointed  in  March,  1639,  "to  exercise 
Barnstable  men  in  their  arms,"  does  not  prove  that  the  town  had 
then  been  incorporated  for,  at  the  same  court,  a   similar   appoint- 

*The  conclusion  of  Mr.  Otis  that  the  incorporation  of  Bamstahle  should  date  from 
June  4,  O.  S.,  (June  14,  N.  S.,)  seems  untenable  Irom  his  own  reasoning.  The  fact  that  a 
constable  was  appointed,  at  the  session  of  the  court  of  June  4,  is  not  sufficient;  this  officer 
was  often  appointed  for  places  that  were  not  at  the  time  recognized  as  towns.  A  place  not 
entitled  to  be  represented  in  the  court  called  not  be  considered  as  fully  incorporated,  and 
Barnstable  was  not  so  represented  until  the  ensuing  December  term.  The  record  of  the 
"Committees  or  Deputies  for  each  town"  in  the  colony,  has  the  following :  "For  Barnstable, 
Mr.  Joseph  Hull,  Mr.  Thomas  Dimmock,  made  in  December  Court,  1639."  This  would 
seem  to  be  conclusive  that  the  incorporation  of  the  town  should  date  from  Dec.  3, 1639, 
when  the  court  met.  S. 


332  GENEALOGICAL    NOTES    OF    BAKNSTABLE    FAMILIES. 

ment  was  made  for  Marshfield,  but  that  town  was  not  incorporated 
till  September  1640,  and  then  as  Rexame. 

No  formal  acts  of  incorporation  were  passed  in  regard  to  anj' 
of  the  towns,  so  that  Barnstable  is  not  an  exception.  A  general 
law  was  passed  from  which  I  have  made  some  extracts.  The 
Secretary  usually  noted  the  time  when  acts'  of  incorporation  were 
passed,  but  the  instrument  itself  was  not  recorded. 

The  history  of  Mr.  Dimmock  is  identified  with  the  early  history 
of  the  town  and  cannot  be  separated.  He  was  the  leading  man 
and  was  in  some  way  connected  with  all  the  acts  of  the  first  settlers. 
On  the  5th  of  January,  1643-4,  Thomas  Hinckley,  Henry  Cobb, 
Isaac  Robinson,  and  Thomas  Lothrop,  drew  up  a  list  of  those  who 
were  then  inhabitants  of  Barnstable,  and  I  infer  from  the  order 
annexed  to  the  same,  that  the  forty-five  named  were  also  house- 
holders. In  making  this  list,  they  commenced  at  the  west  end  of 
the  plantation,  at  Anthony  Annable's,  now  Nathan  Jenkins',  and 
proceeded  eastward,  recording  the  names  of  the  inhabitants  in  the 
order  in  which  they  resided  to  Mr.  Thomas  Dimmock,  whose 
house  stood  a  little  distance  east  of  where  Isaac  Davis'  now 
stands. 

Townsmen  of  Barnstable  Jan.  1643-4. 

1.  Anthony  Annable,  from  Scituate,  1640. 

2.  Abraham  Blush,  Duxbury,  1640. 

3.  Thomas  Shaw,  Hingham,  1639. 

4.  John  Crocker,  Scituate,  1639. 

5.  Dollar  Davis,  Duxbury,  1641-2. 
§.       Henry  Ewell,*  Scituate,  1639. 

7.  William  Betts,  Scituate,  1639. 
"William  Pearse  of  Yarmouth,  1643. 

8.  Robert  Shelley,  Scituate,  1639. 

9.  Thomas  Hatch,  Yarmouth,  1642. 

10.  John  Cooper,  Scituate,  1639. 

11.  Austin  Bearse,  came  over  1638,  of  B.  1639. 

12.  William  Crocker,  Scituate,  1639. 

13.  Henry  Bourne,  Scituate,  1639. 

14.  Henry  Coggin,  Boston,  Spring  1639. 

15.  Lawrence  Litchfield  of  B.,  Spring  1639. 

16.  James  Hamblin,  London,  of  B.,  Spring  of  1639. 

17.  James  Cudworth,  Scituate,  1640. 

18.  Thomas  Hinckley,  Scituate,  1639. 

19.  Samuel  Hinckley, t  Scituate,  8th  July,  1640. 
William  Tilly,  Spring  1639,  removed  to  Boston  1043. 

20.  Isaac  Robinson,  Scituate,  1639. 

*The  town  record  is  Henry  Coxwell,  an  error  of  the  clerk  who  transcribed  the  list.  It 
should  be  Henry  Ewell. 

tSamuel  Hinckley's  name  is  the  46th  on  the  record.  It  should  be  the  18th.  His 
houselot  adjoined  his  son  Thomas  Hinckley's  houselot.  In  1640  he  built  a  bouse  on  the  east 
side  of  CoKgins'  Pond,  in  which  he  resided  until  his  removal  to  West  Barnstable. 


OKNEAL.0G10AL   NOTES   OF   BAEN8TABLE   FAMILIES.         333 

21 .  Samuel  Jackson,  Scituate,  1639. 

22.  Thomas  AUyn, ^  Spring  of  1639. 

Mr.  Joseph  Hull,  Weymouth,  May  1639. 

23.  ,  Mr.  John  Biirsley,  Weymouth,' May  1639. 

24.  Mr.  John, Mayo,  came  over  1638,  of  Biarnstable  1639. 

25.  John  Casley,  Scituate,  Spring  of  1639. 

26.  William  Caseley,  Scituate,  of  B.  Spring  of  1639. 

27.  Robert  Linnett,  Scituate,  1639. 

28.  Thomas  Lothrop,  Scituate,  1639. 

29.  Thomas  Lumbard,  Scituate,  1639. 

30.  Mr.  John  Lothrop,  Scituate,  Oct.  20,  1639. 

31.  John  Hall,  Charlestown,  1641. 

32.  Henry  Rowley,  Scituate,  1639. 

33.  Isa,ac  Wells,  Scituate,  1639. 

34.  John  Smith,  of  Barnstable,  1639. 

35.  George  Lewis,  Scituate,  1639. 

36.  Edward  Fitzrandolphe,  Scituate,  1639. 

37.  Bernard  Lumbard,  Scituate,  1639. 

38.  Roger  Goodspeed,  of  Barnstable,  1639. 

39.  Henry  Cobb,  Scituate,  Oct.  21,  1639. 

40.  Thomas  Huckins,. Boston,  1639. 

41.  John  Scudder,  Boston,  1639. 

42.  Samuel  Mayo,  of  Barnstable,  1639. 

43.  Nathaniel  Bacon,  of  Barnstable,  1639. 

44.  Richard  Foxwell,  from  Scituate,  1639. 

45.  Thomas  Dimmock,  Hingham,  Spring  16S9. 

The  following  were  or  had  been  residents,  but  were  not 
townsmen  in  Jan.  1643-4. 

Samuel  House  returned  to  Scituate.  He  was  of  Barnstable 
in  1641  and  1644. 

John  Oates,  buried  May  8,  1641. 

Samuel  Fuller,  from  Scituate,  had  resided  temporarily  in 
Parnstable ;  but  he  did  not  become  a  townslnan  till  after  Jan. 
1643-4.  His  cousin,  Capt.  Matthew  Fuller,  did  not  settle  in 
Barnstable  till  1652. 

Capt.  Nicholas  Simpkins  was  returned  as  able  to  b'6ar  afrris  in 
Aug.  1643.  He  was  one  of  the  first  settlers  in  Yarrhoiith.  He 
did  not  remain  long  in  Barnstable.  John  Bryant  and  Daniel 
Pryor  are  named  as  residents  in  1641 .  Neither  w61'e'then  of  legal 
age.  In  1643,  Bryant  had  removed  to  Scituate,  and  Pryer  to 
Duxbury.  John  Blower  and  Francis  Crocker  were  residents  in 
1643.  Perhaps  not  of  legal  age.  A  John  Rus.^ell  was  also  of 
Barnstable  in  that  year. 

The  following  also  returned  in  Aug.  1643,  as  able  to  bear 
arms,  were  not  of  legal  age  in  January  1643-4  :  Thomas  Bdurman, 
John  Foxwell,  son  of    Richard,  Thomas   Blossom,  Nicholas   and 


334  GENEALOGICAL    NOTES    OP    BARNSTABLE    FAMILIES. 

John  Davis,  sons  of  Dolar,  Samuel,  Joseph,  and  Benjamin 
Lothrop,  sons  of  John,  David  Linnett,  son  of  Robert,  Nathaniel 
Mayo,  son  of  John,  and  Richard  Berry. 

Of  the  26  from  Scituate,  two,  at  least,  were  of  Barnstable  in 
the  Spring  of  1639,  and  three  delayed  removing  till  1640.  Mr. 
Lothrop  and  a  majority  of  his  church  did  not  resolve  to  remove 
till  June,  and  on  the  26th  of  that  month  a  fast  was  held 
"For  the  presence  of  God  in  mercy  to  goe  with  us  to  Mattakeese." 
There  is  no  record  of  the  names  of  those  who  came  in  June. 
Those  who  came,  probably  left  their  families  at  Scituate,  and 
came  by  land,  bringing  with  them  their  horses,  cattle,  farming  and 
other  utensils,  in  order  to  provide  hay  for  their  cattle,  and  shelter 
for  their  families  before  winter. 

A  majority  of  the  earlier  settlers  did  not  come  from  Scituate. 
The  fourteen  last  named  on  the  list  were  in  Barnstable  very  early, 
and  settled  near  the  Unitarian  Meeting-House,  in  the  easterly  part 
of  the  plantation.  These  lands  are  those  named  in  the  record  as 
run  out  by  authority  of  Mr.  Collicot.  Mr.  Dimmock's  Lot  was 
the  most  easterly,  and  in  1654  is  thus  described  on  the  town 
record :  "Imp.  a  grant  of  a  great  lot  to  Mr.  Dimmock,  with 
meadow  adjoining,  at  a  Little  Running  Brook  at  ye  East  End  of 
the  plantation,  toward  Yarmouth,  which  Lands  is  in  the  present 
possession  of  G-eorge  Lewis,  Sen'r,  let  and  farmed  out  to  him  for 
some  certain  years  by  the  said  Mr.  Dimmock."* 

This  description  is  indefinite,  yet  important  facts  are  stated. 
It  was  triangular  in  form  and  contained,  including  upland  and 
meadows,  about  seventy-five  apres.  The  east  corner  bound  stood 
a  little  distance  east  of  the  present  dwelling-house  of  William  W. 
Sturgis,  and  was  bounded  southerly  by  the  county  road,  115  rods 
to  the  range  of  fence  between  the  houses  of  Solomon  Hinckley 
and  Charles  Sturgis,  thence  northerly  across  mill  creek  to  the  old 
common  field,  and  thence  south-easterly  to  the  first  mentioned 
bound,  and  mcluded  a  narrow  strip  of  upland  on  the  north  side  of 
the  mill  creek  meadows.  The  soil  of  the  upland  was  fertile,  and 
the  meadows  easy  of  access,  and  productive.  It  was  the  best 
grazing  farm  in  the  East  Parish,  and  although  lands  and  meadows 
then  bore  only  a  nominal  price,  it  is  not  surprismg  that  Mr.  Dim- 
mock was  enabled  to  rent  his. 


*This  is  called  Mr.  Dimmock's  "great  lot"  yet.  I  think  it  was  not  what  was  generally 
understood  by  the  term  "great  lot"  among  the  first  settlers.  In  subsequent  records  the 
tracts  of  land  situate  between  Mr.  Lothrop's  great  lot  on  the  west,  and  Barnard  Lumbert's 
on  the  east,  (now  Dinunock's  Lane)  and  bounded  north  by  the  County  road,  is  called  "Mr. 
Dimmock's  Great  Lot,"  and  is  now  owned  by  Joshua  Thayer,  Capt.  Pierce,  Wm.  W.  Stur- 
gis, Mr.  Whittemore,  Capt.  Swinerton,  and  the  Heirs  of  Capt.  Franklin  Percival.  This  land, 
m  1689,  was  owned  by  his  son  Ensign  Shubael,  and  the  record  may  refer  to  him,  though  he 
would  not  have  been  entitled  to  a  "great  lot"  only  as  the  representative  of  his  father',  not  in 
his  own  right.  Besides  the  above.  Elder  Thomas,  as  one  of  the  proprietors,  was  entitled  to 
commonage,  to  which  his  son  Shubael  succeeded.  (Commonage.  This  word  is  used  by 
Dr.  Bond  and  others,  to  express  in  one  word  all  the  right  which  the  first  settlers  of  towns 
had  in  the  common  lands  and  meadows,  whether  by  virtue  of  their  rights  as  proprietors,  or 
as  townsmen.) 


GENEALOGICAL    NOTES    OF    BAEN8TABLE    FAMILIES.         335 

In  the  sketch  of  the  Bacon  Family,  the  laying  out  of  lots  on 
the  west  of  the  Dimmock  farm  is  described.  The  lots  first  laid 
out  generally  extended  in  length  from  east  to  west,  while  those 
afterwards  laid  out  were  longer  on  their  north  and  south  lines. 

The  Rev.  John  Lothrop's  first  house  stood  near  the  Eldridge 
hotel.  On  the  east  of  this  lot  seven  Scituatei  men  settled,  namely, 
Henry  Rowley,  on  the  same  lot,  Isaac  "Wells  near  the  Court  House, 
George  Lewis,  Sen'r  near  the  Ainsworth  house,  Edward  Fitz- 
randolph  on  the  corner  lot  adjoining  the  Hyannis  road,  Henry 
Cobb  a  little  north  from  the  Unitarian  Meeting  House,  Richard 
Foxwell  near  the  Agricultural  Hall,  and  Bernard  Lumbard  near 
the  mill  where  Dolar  Davis  afterwards  resided. f  The  three  last 
named  came  early,  probably  all  of  the  seven. 

The  other  Scituate  men  who  came  with  Mr.  Lothrop  numbered 
from  12  to  32,  settled  between  the  Court  House  and  the  present 
westerly  bounds  of  the  East  Parish.  Those  who  came  later, 
farther  west.  This  is  a  general  statement ;  there  are  exceptions, 
which  will  be  noted  hereafter. 

A  settlement  was  also  made  very  early  on  the  borders  of 
Coggin's  Pond.  Here  we  find  the  same  peculiarity  in  the  shape  of 
the  original  lots,  their  longer  lines  extended  from  east  to  west ; 
while  m  all  other  parts  of  the  town  except  in  these  two  particular 
localities  the  longer  lines  are  north  and  south.  The  early  settlers 
in  that  neighborhood  were  Henry  Bourne  and  Thomas  Hinckley, 
from  Scituate,  and  Henry  Coggin,  Lawrence  Litchfield,  James 
Hamblin,  and  William  TUly,  probably  associates  of  Mr.  Collicut. 

In  an  inquiry  of  this  kind,  entire  accuracy  is  not  to  be 
expected,  but  these  three  points  in  regard  to  the  settlement  of 
Barnstable  are  clearly  established. 

1st.  In  the  winter  of  1637-8,  Rev.  Stephen  Bachiler,  with  a 
company  consisting  of  himself,  his  sons,  his  sons-in-law,  and  his 
grand-sons,  in  all  making  five  or  six  families,  settled  at  the  north- 
east part  of  the  town.  They  remained  till  the  Spring  of  1638, 
when  they  abandoned  the  attempt  to  form  a  permanent  settlement, 
and  all  removed. 

2d.  In  1638,  or  on  the  year  previous,  the  lands  atMattakeese 
were  granted  to  Mr.  Richard  Collicut  of  Dorchester,  and  his 
associates.  Under  the  authority  of  this  grant,  two  settlements 
were  made,  the  larger  near  the  Unitarian  Meeting  House,  and  the 
other  near  Coggin's  Pond.  In  March,  1639,  there  were  about 
fifteen  families  in  the  two  neighborhoods.  June  14,  1639,  new 
style,  when  the  grant  to  Mr.  Collicut  was  revoked,  about  twenty. 

1 1  do  not  state  this  with  perfect  confidence  of  its  accuracy.  Ilespecting  the  Collicut 
lots ;  there  are  two,  one  laid  to  Barnard  Lumbert,  and  one  to  Samuel  Mayo.  The  one  near 
the  mill,  afterwards  Dolar  Davis',  I  suppose  to  be  Lumbard's,  the  other  including  Major 
IPhinney's  house  lot,  and  the  house  lot  of  Timothy  Reed,  deceased,  I  judge  was  Samuel 
Mayo's.  Both  were  sold  early,  the  latter  was  owned  in  1654  by  the  Widow  Mary  Hallett, 
probably  widow  ot  Mr.  Andrew  Hallett,  the  schoolmaster. 


336  GENEALOGICAL    NOTES    OF    BAKNSTABLE    FAMILIES. 

3d.  June  14,  1639,  N.  8.,  Barnstable  was  incorporated  as  a 
town,  and  the  lands  therein  graiited  to  Rev.  Joseph  Hull  and  Mr. 
Thomas  Dimmoek,  as  a  committee  of  the  townsmen,  and  of  such 
as  should  thereafter  be  regularly  admitted.  In  that  month  feev. 
Mr.  Lothrop  and  a  majority  of  his  church  resolved  to  remove  to 
Barnstable,  and  some  then  came ;  but  a  great  majority  came  by 
water  Oct.  21,  1639,  N.  S.,  making  the  whole  number  of  families 
,then  in  Barnstable  forty-one,  the  full  number  required. 

If  the  names  already  given,  .John  Chipman,  John  Phinney, 
John  Otis,  John  Howland,  Thomas  Ewer,  William  Sergeant,  and 
Edward  Coleman,  who  came  to  Barnstable  a  few  years  latei',  are 
added,  the  list  will  include  the  emigrant  ancestors  of  nineteen 
twentieths  of  the  present  inhabitants  of  the  town  of  Barnstable. 
Capt.  John  Dickenson  and  Jas.  Nabor  were  also  early  inhabitants. 
Nearly -.all  the  ofBees  were  conferred  upon  Messrs.  Hull  and 
Dimmoek.  They  were  the  land  committee,  an  office  involving 
arduous  and  responsible  duties,  and  the  exercise  of  a  sound 
judgment  and  discretion.  That  they  performed  their  duties  well, 
the  fact  that  no  appeal  from  their  decisions  was  ever  made  to  the 
Colony  Court,  affords  sufficient  evidence.  They  were  the  duputies 
to  the  Colony  Court,  and  seemed  to  possess  the  entire  confidence 
of  the  people.  J  > 

Mr.  iDimmock  was  also  a  deputy  to  the  Plymouth  Colonv 
Court  in,  1640,  '41,  '42,  '48,  '49,  and  '60.  He  was  admitted  a 
freeman  of  the  Colony  Dec.  3,  1639.  June  2,  1640,  Mr. 
Thomas  Dimmoek  of  Barnstable,  Mr.  John  Crow  of  Yarmouth, 
were  appointed  to  "join  with  Mr.  Edmond  Freeman  of  Sandwich, 
to  hear  and  determine  all  causes  and  controversies  within  the 
three  townships  not :  exceeding  twenty  shillings,  according  to 
the  former  order  of  the  Court."  This  was  the  first  Court  estab- 
lished in  the  County  of  Barnstable.  Mr.  B>eeman  had  been 
elected  an  assistant  in  the  preceeding  March,  and  by  virtue  of  that 
office  was  a  magistrate  or  judge  ;  but  he  was  not  qualified  till  June 
2,  1640,  but  Mr.  Dimmoek  and  Mr.  Crow  were  qualified.  Cases 
involving  larger  sums  were  tried  before  the  Governor  and  assis- 
tants. The  first  court  of  assistants,  or  Supreme  Court,  convened 
in  this  County,  was  held  in  Yarmouth  June  17,  1641.  June  5, 
1644,  Mr.  Dimmoek  and  Mr.  Crow  were  re-appointed  magistrates 

{Mr.  Hull's  popularity  in  Barnstable  soon  waned.  In  1640  he  does  not  appear  to  have 
held  any  office.  May  1, 1641,  he  was  excommunicated  from  the  Barnstable  Church,  for 
joining  a  company  in  Yarmouth  as  their  pastor.  He  was  however  received  again  into 
fellowship  Aug.  10, 1643.  From  Barnstable  ,  he  removed  to  Oyster  Eiver,  Maine,  and  from 
thence  in.  1662  to  the  Isle  of  Shoals  where  he  died  19th  Nov.  1665.  Simple  justice  has  never 
been  done  to  the  memory  of  Eev.  Joseph  ,Hull.    He  came  over  in  1835,  probably  from 

Barnstaple  tn  Devonshire.    He  welcomed  Mr.  Lothrop  and  his  church  to  Barnstable, he 

then  opened  the  doors  of  his  house,  one  of  the  largest  and  best  in  the  plantation,  for  their 
meetings, — he  feasted  them  on  thanksgiving  days,  and  was  untiring  in  his  eiforts  for  their 
temporal  prosperity.  He  is  not  charged  witn  any  immorality,  or  with  holding  any  heretical 
opinions;  yet  he  was  driven  from  the  town,  that  probably  received  its  name,  as  a  mark  of 
respect  to  him.  His  history  is  worthy  to  be  preserved,  and  at  the  proper  time  I  shall 
endeavor  to  do  justice  to  his  memory. 


GKNEALOGIOAL    NOTES    OF   BAEN8TABLE    FAMILIES.         337 

or  assistants  of  Mr.  Freeman,  who  was  the  chief  justice  of  the 
inferior  court,  and  assistant,  or  associate  justice  of  the  higher 
court. 

Sept.  22,  1642,  Mr.  Dimmock  was  appointed  by  the  Colony 
Court  t©  be  one  of  the  council  of  war.  On  the  10th  of  Oct.  1642, 
he  was  elected  lieutenant§  of  the  company  of  militia  in  Barnstable, 
and  the  Court  approved  of  the  choice  March  3,  1645-6,  the  grand 
jury  presented  him  "for  neglecting  to  exercise  Barnstable  men  in 
arms  ;"  but  the  Court,  after  hearing  the  evidence,  discharged  the 
complaint.  In  July,  1646,  Mr.  Dimmock  was  again  re-elected 
lieutenant,  and  the  choice  was  approved. 

In  1650,  he  was  one  of  the  commissioners  of  the  Plymouth 
Colony,  to  confer  witli  a  similar  commission  of  the  Massachusetts 
Colony,  and  decide  respecting  the  title  of  the  lands  at  Shawwamet 
and  Patuxet. 

On  the  7th  of  August,  1650,  he  was  ordained  Elder  of  the 
Church  of  Barnstable,  of  which  he  had  been  a  member  from  its 
organization. 

These  extracts  require  no  comment.  They  prove  that  Mr. 
Dimmock  was  held  by  the  colony,  the  town,  and  the  church,  to  be 
a  man  of  integrity  and  ability.  He  lived  at  a  time  when  the 
faults  of  every  man  holding  a  prominent  position  in  society  were 
recorded.  One  complaint  only  was  ever  made  against  him,  and 
that  was  "discharged"  as  unfounded  and  frivolous. 

After  1650  he  does  not  appear  to  have  held  any  public  ofl8ce8, 
and  in  1654  he  had  leased  his  farm,  though  he  continued  to  reside 
in  Barnstable.  He  died  in  1658  or  1659,  and  in  his  nuncopative 
will,  attested  to  by  Anthony  Annable  and  John  Smith,  they  state 
that  "when  he  was  sick  last  summer,  [1658]  he  said,  what  little 
he  had  he  would  give  to  his  wife,  for  the  children  were  hers  as 
well  as  his." 

Few  of  the  first  settlers  lived  a  purer  life  than  Elder  Thomas 
Dimmock.  He  came  over,  not  to  amass  wealth,  or  acquire  honor  ; 
but  that  he  might  worship  his  God  according  to  the  dictates  of  his 
own  conscience ;  and  that  he  and  his  posterity  might  here  enjoy 
the  blessings  of  civil  and  religious  liberty.  His  duties  to  his  God, 
to  his  country,  and  to  his  neighbor,  he  never  forgot,  never  know- 
ingly violated.  In  the  tolerant  views  of  his  beloved  pastor,  the 
Rev.  John  Lothrop,  he  entirely  coincided.  If  his  neighbor  was 
an  Ana-Baptist  or  a  Quaker,  he  did  not  judge  him,  because  he 
held,  that  to  be  a  perogative  of  Deity,  which  man  had  no  right  to 
assume. 

A  man  who  holds  to  such  principles,  whose  first  and  only 
inquiry  is  what  does  duty  demand,  and  performs  it,  will  rarely 
stray  far  from  the  Christian  fold.     His  posterity  will  never  ask  to 

§Lieutenant  was  then  the  highest  rank  in  the  local  militia. 


338  GBNBALOG-ICAL    NOTKS    OF    BAKN STABLE    FAMILIES. 

what  sect  he  belonged,  they  will  call  him  blessed,  and  only  regret 
that  their  lives  are  not  like  his. 

In  the  latter  part  of  his  life  Mr.  Dimmock  appears  to  have 
been  of  feeble  health,  and  unable  to  perform  any  act  that  required 
labor  or  care.  It  appears  also,  that  he  was  obliged  to  sell  a  por- 
tion of  his  ample  real  estate,  to  provide  means  for  the  support  of 
himself  and  family,  and  at  his  death  he  gave  the  remainder  to  his 
wife,  in  a  "will"  full  of  meaning  and  characteristic  of  the  man. 

Dimmock  is  an  old  name  in  England,  and  there  are  many 
families  who  bear  it.  It  has  various  spellings,  and  probably  was 
originally  the  same  as  that  of  Dymocke,  the  hereditary  champion 
of  England,  an  office  now  abolished,  who  at  coronations  owed  the 
service  of  Challenge  to  all  competitors  for  the  crown.  In  this 
country  I  find  the  name  written  Dymocke,  Dimmock,  Dimack, 
Dimuck,  Dimicku.  In  the  commission  of  Edward  Dimmock 
engrossed  on  parchment,  three  different  spellings  of  the 
name  occur.  The  family  usually  write  the  name  Dimmock,  but 
many  Dimick,  which  is  more  nearly  in  accordance  with  tlie  pro- 
nunciation than  any  other  spelling.  It  is  probably  a  Welch  or  a 
West  of  England  name,  and  some  facts  stated  by  Burke  in  his 
genealogy  of  the  family  favor  the  family  tradition,  that  Elder 
Thomas  Dimmock's  father  was  Edward,  and  that  he  came  from 
Barnstaple  or  that  vicinity. 

I.  Elder  Thomas  Dimmock  married  Ann  [Hammond  ?]  * 
before  his  removal  to  Barnstable.     His  children  were  : 

2.  I.  Timothy,  baptized  by  Mr.  Lothrop  Jan.  12,  1639-40, 
and  was  the  first  of  the  English  who  died  in  Barnstable,  and 
was  buried  June  17,  1640,  "in  the  lower  syde  of  the  Calves 
Pasture." 

3.  II.  Mehitable,  baptized  April  18,  1642.  She  married 
Richard  Child  of  Watertown,  March  30,  1662,  where  she 
appears  to  have  beeu  a  resident  at  the  time.  She 
died  Aug.  18,  1676,  aged  34.  She  had  1,  Richard, 
March  30,  1663;  2,  Ephraim,  Oct.  9,  1664;  3,  Shubael, 
Dee.  19,  1665,  he  married,  was  afterwards  insane,  and 
froze  to  death  in  the  County  prison ;  4,  Mehitable ;  5, 
Experience,  born  Feb.  26,  1669-70;  6,  Abigail,  born  June 
16,  1672,  married  Joseph  Lothrop,  Esq.,  of  Barnstable;  7, 
Ebenezer,  born  Nov.  10,  1674  ;  8,  Hannah,  twin,  born  Nov. 
10,  1674,  married  Joseph  Blush  of  Barnstable. 

4.  III.  Shubael,  baptized  Sept.  15,  1644,  married  Joanna, 
daughter  of  John  Bmsley,  April  1663. 

*To  attempt  to  gleau  in  a  field  which  has  been  surveyed  by  so  thorough  a  genealogist  as 
Dr.  Bond,  may  seem  presumptuous.  Samuel  House,  Hobert  Linnett,  and  Thomas  Dim- 
mock it  appears  by  the  records  of  Mr.  Lothrop,  were  his  brothers-in-law.  Rev.  Mr. 
Lothrop  iliarried  for  his  second  wife,  Anae,  daughter  of  William  Hammond  of  Watertown; 
Samuel  House  mamed  her  sister  Elizabeth;  Mr.  Lothrop's  son  Thomas  married  Sarah, 
daughter  of  Robert  Lmnell;  William  Hammond  had  tivo  daughters  of  the  name  Anne,  and 
this  would  not  be  a  case  without  a  parallel,  if  both  were  hving  .it  the  same  time,  and  that 
one  mamed  Mr.  Lothrop  and  tlio  other  Mr.  Dimmock. 


GENEALOGICAL    NOTES    OF    BARNSTABLE    FAMILIES.         339 

The  children  of  Elder  Dimmock  are  not  recorded  on  the 
Barnstable  town,  or  on  the  Plymouth  Colony  records.  The  above 
are  from  the  church  records,  which  are  more  reliable  than  either  of 
the  others.  He  may  have  had  children  before  he  came  to  Barn- 
stable ;  but  it  is  not  probable.  The  widow  Ann  Dimmock  was 
living  in  Oct.  1683.  The  date  of  her  decease  is  not  on  the  town 
or  church  records.     She  probably  died  before  1686. 

4.  Ensign  Shubael  Dimmock,  only  son  of  Elder  Thomas, 
who  lived  to  mature  age,  sustained  the  character  and  reputation  of 
his  father.  In  1669  he  was  a  resident  in  Yarmouth ;  but  did  not 
I'emain  long.  In  Barnstable  he  was  much  employed  in  town  busi- 
ness. He  was  one  of  the  selectmen  in  1686  and  6,  a  deputy  to 
the  Colony  Court  in  the  same  years,  and  again  in  1689  after  the 
expulsion  of  Sir  Edmond  Andros.  He  was  Ensign  of  the  militia 
company,  and  was  called  in  the  records  Ensign  Shubael  Dimmock. 
About  the  year  1693  he  removed  to  Mansfield,  Conn.,  where  he 
was  known  as  Dea.  Dimmock.  He  died  in  that  town  Sunday,  Oct. 
29,  1732,  at  9  o'clock,  in  the  91st  year  of  his  age,  and  his  wife 
Joanna  May  8,  1727,  aged  83  years. 

He  inherited  the  real  estate  of  his  father,  to  which  he  made 
large  additions.  Of  his  place  of  residence  and  business  in  Yar- 
mouth, I  find  no  trace  in  the  records.  In  1686  he  resided  in  the 
fortification  house  which  was  his  father's.  The  house  which  his 
son  Capt.  Thomas  afterwards  resided  in,  was  built  and  owned  by 
him.  it  was  built  176  years  ago,  and  as  it  has  always  been  kept 
in  good  repair,  few  would  mistrust  from  its  appearance  that  it  was 
so  ancient.  It  remained  in  the  family  till  about  1812,  when  it 
was  sold  to  the  father  of  Mr.  Selleck  Hedge,  the  present  owner. 
This  house,  and  the  houses  built  by  Ensign  Dimmock's  sons,  all 
belong  to  the  class  of  buildings  known  as  high  single  houses. 
They  were  of  wood,  and  somewhat  larger,  but  the  style  was  the 
same  as  that  of  Elder  Thomas'.  They  contained  the  same  num- 
ber of  rooms,  fronted  either  due  north  or  due  south,  and  on  clear 
days  the  shadows  of  the  house  were  a  sun  dial  to  the  inmates,  the 
only  time  piece  which  they  could  consult. 

Ensign  Dimmock,  at  the  time  of  his  marriage,  April  1663, 
was  only  eighteen  years  and  seven  months  old,  and  his  wife 
Joanua  seventeen  years  and  one  month.  At  her  death,  they  had 
lived  in  the  marriage  state  64  years.  His  children  born  in 
Barnstable  were  : 

Thomas,  born  April  1664. 
John,  Jan.  1666. 
Timothv,  March  1668. 
Shubael",  Feb.  1673. 
Joseph,  Sept.  1676. 
Mehitabel,  1677. 
Benjamin,  March  1680. 


0. 

i. 

6. 

II. 

7. 

III. 

8. 

IV. 

9. 

V. 

10. 

VI. 

11. 

VII. 

340  GENEALOGICAL    NOTES    OF    BAKN8TABLE    FAMILIES. 

12.  VIII.     Joanna,  March  1682. 

13.  IX.     Thankful,  Nov.  1684. 

5.  Capt.  Thomas  Dimmoek,  or  Dimmack,  as  he  wrote  his 
name,  son  of  Ensign  Shubael,  was  in  the  military  service  in  the 
eastern  country,  and  was  killed  in  battle  at  Canso,  on  the  9th  of 
Sept.  1697.  He  was  a  gallant  officer,  and  in  the  battle  in  which  he 
lost  his  life  he  would  not  conceal  himself  in  the  thicket  or  shelter 
himself  behind  a  tree,  as  the  other  officers  and  soldiers  under  his 
command  did,  but  stood  out  in  the  open  field,  a  conspicuous  mark 
for  the  deadly  aim  of  the  French,  and  of  the  Indian  warriors. t 

Capt.  Dimmoek  resided  in  the  East  Parish,  and  about  the 
year  1690  bought  the  dwelling-house  of  Henry  Taylor,  which 
stood  on  the  east  of  the  common  field  road,  where  Mr.  Nathaniel 
Gorham  now  resides.  This  he'  sold  to  Nathaniel  Orris  in  1694. 
He  afterwards  owned  and  occupied  his  father's  house,  above 
described.  Though  only  thirty-three  at  his  death,  he  had  acquired 
a  large  estate.  The  real  estate  which  was  his  father's  was  apprised 
at  £110  ;  the  farm  at  West  Barnstable  bought  of  Jonathan  Hatch, 
at  £72  ;  land  bought  of  Thomas  Lumbert,  Sen'r,  Henry  Taylor, 
and  Sergeant  Cobb,  £20  ;  meadow  in  partnership  with  John  Bacon 
and  Samuel  Cobb,  £16  ;  and  meadow  at  Rowley's  Spring,  formerly 
his  father's,  £12.  He  had  a  large  personal  estate,  including  one- 
sixth  of  a  sloop,  shares  in  whale  boats,  &c. 

Capt.  Thomas  Dimmoek  married  Desire  Sturgis.  He  died 
Sept.  9,  1697,  and  she  married  2d,  Col.  John  Thacher,  2d  of  that 
name,  Nov.  10,  1698,  by  whom  she  had  six  children.  She  died 
29th  March,  1749,  in  the  84th  year  of  her  age.  Her  husband 
wrote  some  highly  eulogistic  poetry  on  her  death. }: 

His  children  born  in  Barnstable  were  : 

14.  I.  Mehitabel,  born  Oct.  1686.  She  married  Capt.  John 
Davis  Aug.  13,  1705,  and  died  May  1775,  aged  88.  (For 
a  notice  of  her  see  Davis.) 

15.  II.  Temperance,  June  1689,  married  June  2,  1709,  Benja- 
min Freeman  of  Harwich,  and  has  numerous  descendants. 

16.  III.  Edward,  born  5th  July  1692.  (See  account  of  his 
family  below.) 

17.  IV.  Thomas,  born  25th  Dec.  1694.  Of  this  son  I  have 
no  information. 

18.  V.  Desire,  born  Feb.  1696,  married  Job  Gorham  Dec.  4, 
1719,  died  Jan.  28,  1732-3. 


fThis  is  the  tradition  which  has  been  preserved  in  the  neighborhood;  but  I  find  no  men- 
tion of  his  death  in  the  histories  of  the  times  which  I  have  consulted.  It  was  the  last  year 
of  King  "Williams'  war,  and  great  alarm  prevailed  throughout  New  England  that  tlie 
country  would  be  invaded  by  the  French.  Capt.  Dimmoek  was  engaged  in  the  whale 
fishery,  and  he  may  have  been  on  a  whaling  voyage  at  the  time ;  but  the  statement  in  the 
text  is  probably  accurate. 

XI  have  the  original  in  the  hand-writing  of  Col.  Thatcher.  I  preserve  it  not  for  the 
poetry;  but  because  it  is  written  on  the  back  of  a  valuable  historical  document. 


GENEALOGICAL    NOTES    OF    BARNSTABLE    FAMlLlKiS.         341 

6.  John  Dimmock,  or  Dimuck,  as  he  wrote  his  name,  son  of 
Ensign  Shubael,  was  a  farmer  and  resided  in  Barnstable  till 
October  1709,  when  he  exchanged  his  farm  in  Barnstable  contain- 
ing forty  acres  of  upland  and  thirty  of  meadow,  his  liouselot  and 
commonage,  with  Samuel  Sturgis  of  Barnstable,  for  a  farm  on 
Monosmenekecon  Neck,  in  Falmouth,  containing  150  acres  and 
other  lands  in  the  vicinity  of  said  Neck,  and  removed  to  that 
town,  where  he  has  descendants.  His  house  in  Barnstable  is  now 
owned  by  Mr.  Wm.  W.  Sturgis.  He  married,  Nov.  1689,  Eliza- 
beth Lumbert,  and  had  nine  children  born  in  Barnstable,  viz : 

19.  I.     Sarah,  born  Dec.  1690. 

20.  II.     Anna,  or  Hannah,  last  of  Julv  1692. 

21.  III.     Mary,  June  1695. 

22.  IV.  Theophilus,  Sept.  1696,  married  Sarah,  daughter  of 
Benjamin  Hinckley,  Oct.  1,  1722. 

23.  V.     Timothy,  July  1698. 

24.  VI.     Ebenezer,  Feb.  1700. 

25.  VII.     Thankful,  5th  April.  1702. 

26.  VIII.  Elizabeth,  20th  April,  1704,  married  John  Lovell 
1750. 

27.  IX.     David,  baptized  19th  May,  1706. 

7.  Timothy  Dimmock,  son  of  Ensign  Shubael,  removed  to 
Mansfield,  Conn.,  and  from  thence  to  Ashford  where  he  died 
about  the  year  1733.  His  wife  was  named  Abigail.  She  had  six 
children  born  in  Mansfield.  Timothy,  born  June  5,  1703,  is  the 
first  named  on  the  record.  He  had  also  Israel  and  Ebenezer,  the 
latter  born  22d  Nov.  1715,  and  was  the  grandfather  of  Col.  J. 
Dimick  of  Fort  Warren,  Boston  harbor.  He  has  many  descend- 
ants in  Connecticut. 

8.  Shubael  Dimock,  son  of  Ensign  Shubael,  resided  in 
Barnstable.  He  married  Tabitha  Lothrop  May  4,  1699.  She 
died  July  24,  1727,  aged  56  years;  he  died  Dec.  16,  1728,  aged 
55  years'.  Both  are  buried  in  the  ancient  grave  yard  on  the  Old 
Meeting  House  Hill.  His  father,  on  his  removal  to  Mansfield, 
gave  him  a  share  of  his  estate.  His  children,  born  in  Barnstable, 
were — 

28.  I.  Samuel,  born  7th  May,  1702,  married  Hannah  Davis 
1724.  June  1,  1740,  she  was  dismissed  to  the  church  in 
Tolland,  Conn.  She  died  in  Barnstable,  a  widow,  Oct.  13, 
1755  ;  but  the  family  probably  remained  in  Connecticut. 
They  had  seven  children  born  in  Barnstable:  1,  Mehitable, 
April  25, 1722,  Sabbath  ;  2,  Samuel,  Oct.  17, 1726,  Monday  ; 
3,  Hannah,  Nov.  26,  1728,  Tuesday  ;  4,  Shubael,  31st  Janu- 
ary, 1731,  Sabbath  ;  5,  Joseph,  Feb.  19,  1733,  Monday; 
6,  Mehitabel,  29th  Sept.  1735,  Monday ;  7,  Daniel,  May  28, 
1738,  Sabbath  ;  8,  David,  1745.     (Born  in  Connecticut.) 

Samuel    Dimmock   has  numerous   descendants.     He   resided 


342  GENEALOGICAL    NOTES    OF    BAKN8TABLE    FAMILIES. 

several  years  in  Saybrook,  Conn.  His  widow,  as  above  stated, 
died  ill  Barnstable,  and  it  is  said  that  he  also  died  in  his  native 
town.  His  son  Samuel  died  at  Albany  in  1756  ;  Shubael  went  to 
Mansfield,  and  it  is  said  removed  to  Nova  Scotia,  before  the  Revo- 
lution ;  Joseph  lived  many  years  in  Wethersfield,  Conn.,  and  died 
in  182.5  at  one  of  his  daughter's  in  Greenville,  N.  Y.,  aged  92. 
Several  of  his  descendants  were  sea  captains  and  lost  at  sea. 
.Joseph  .J.  Dimock,  late  Assistant  Secretary  of  State,  Hartford,  is 
a  great  grandson  of  .Joseph.  Daniel,  son  of  Samuel,  lived  in  the 
eastern  part  of  Connecticut.  David  Dimock,  a  son  of  Samuel, 
born  after  his  removal  from  Barnstable,  removed  from  Wethers- 
field to  Montrose,  Penn.,  and  died  there  in  1832,  aged  87. 
Davis,  a  son  of  David,  was  a  Baptist  preacher  of  some  note — a 
man  all  work — baptized  2,000  persons — preached  8,000  sermons — 
a  practicing  physician — acting  county  judge,  &c.  The  descend- 
ants of  David  at  Montrose  are  among  the  most  worthy  and  influ- 
ential in  that  region.  Milo  M.,  a  son,  was  a  member  of  Congress 
in  1852,  Associate  Judge,  &c. 

29.  II.  David,  baptized  11th  June,  1704  Married  Thankful 
Cobb,  October  14,  1746.     (Doubtful.) 

30.  III.     Joanna,  born  24th  Dec.  1708;  died  January,  1709. 

31.  IV.     Mehitable,  born  26th  June,  1711. 

32.  V.     Shubael,  baptized  April,  1706. 

9.  Joseph  Dimmock,  son  of  Ensign  Shubael,  married,  12th 
May,  1699,  Lydia,  daughter  of  Doct.  John  Fuller.  She  learned 
the  trade  of  tailoress,  and  after  the  death  of  her  father,  Stephen 
Skiff,  Esq.,  of  Sandwich,  was  her  guardian.  Her  mother-in-law 
administered  on  the  estate,  and  May  9,  1700  she  acknowledges  the 
receipt  of  £75.  from  her  said  mother,  then  wife  of  Capt.  John 
Lothrop,  in  full  for  her  right  in  her  father's  estate.  Several  mem- 
bers of  this  family  removed  to  Connecticut.  She  died  there 
November  6,  1755,  aged  80.     Children  born  in  Barnstable: 

33.  I.     Thomas,  born  26th  January,  1699-1700. 

84.  II.  Bethiah,  3d  Febuary,  1702.  Married,  1726,  Samuel 
Annable.  Oct.  22,  1751,  dismissed  from  the  Barnstable 
Church  to  the  church  in  Scotland,  Conn. 

35.  III.  Mehitable,  22d  Nov.,  1707,  married  Thomas  Crocker, 
1727,  died  1729. 

36.  IV.  Ensign,  (?)  born  8th  Nov.,  1709,  married  Abigail 
Tobey,  of  Sandwich,  Oct.  19,  1731,  and  had — 1,  Thomas, 
29th  Oct.  1732;  2,  Mehitable,  12th  April  1735;  3,  Joseph, 
12th  July,  1740. 

Joseph  Dimmock  resided  in  the  east  parish.  His  house  stood 
on  the  spot  where  Asa  Young,  Esq.,  now  resides.  It  was  a  two 
story  single  house  like  his  brother's,  father's  and  grandfather's. 
On  his  removal  to  Connecticut  it  wa.s  sold  to  the  Sturgis's,  and 
passed  from  them  into  the  possession  of  Bangs  Young  and  his  son 


GRNEALOQICAL  NOTES  OF  BARNSTABLE  PAMIHES.    343 

Asa.  It  was  taken  down  about  30  years  ago.  "fShuball  Dim- 
mack"  of  Maasfield,  oa  the  6th  of"  March,  1705-G,  "for  the 
natural  affection  he  bears  to  his  son  Joseph  Dimmock,"  conveyed 
to  him  eight  acres  of  land  on  the  west  side  of  his  gi'eat  lot  (now 
Joshua  Thayer's  home  lot)  with  one  acre  more  on  the  north  side 
of  the  road  (now  the  house  lot  of  Asa  Young,  Esq.)  This  laud, 
at  the  time,  was  under  lease  to  Shubael  Dimmock,  Jr.  The  con- 
ditions of  the  deed  were  as  follows:  "That  the  said  Joseph  Dim- 
mock shall  not  make  sale,  or  give  conveyance  of  the  said  given 
and  granted  nine  acres  of  land  from  his  heirs  to  any  stranger  or 
person  whatever,  except  it  bee  to  some  or  one  of  his  brothers 
John  or  Shubael  Dimmock,  or  their  heirs  of  the  race  of  the  Dim- 
mocks,  unless  they  or  either  of  them,  or  theirs,  shall  refuse  upon 
tender  of  sale  of  the  premises  to  give  the  true  and  just  value 
thereof  for  the  time  being,  that  any  other  will  give  in  reality, 
bonejide,  without  deceit,  or  what  it  may  be  valued  at  by  two  indif- 
ferent or  uninterested  persons."  Similar  provisio.ns  I  presume 
were  incorporated  in  the  deeds  to  his  other  sons.  Excepting  one 
small  house  lot,  all  the  lands  of  Ensign  Dimmock  passed  out  of 
the  possession  of  the  Dimmocks  fifty  years  ago,  and  all  the  lands 
of  the  elder  a  century  ago.  As  numerous  as  this  family  was  at 
the  beginning  of  the  eighteenth  century,  there  is  now  only  one,  a 
maiden  lady,  who  bears  the  name  in  the  town  of  Barnstable. 

37.  V.     Ishabod,  born  8th  March,  1711. 

38.  VI.  Abigail,  born  31st  June,  1714,  married  Thomas  Anna- 
ble  April  1,  1768,  his  third  wife  and  was  the  mother  of 
Abigail  and  Joseph,  the  latter  yet  remembered  bv  the  aged. 

39.  VII.     Pharoh,  2d  Sept.  1717.- 

40.  VIII.  David,  22d  Dec,  1721.  (I  think  this  David  married 
Thankful  Cobb.)  David,  the  son  of  Shubael,  is  named  in 
the  church,  but  not  in  the  town  records,  indicating  that  he 
died  early. 

11.  Benjamin  Dimmock,  son  of  Ensign  Shubael,  removed 
with  his  father  to  Mansfield,  Conn.  Also  his  sisters  Joanna  and 
Thankful ;  but  my  correspondent,  Wm.  L.  Weaver,  Esq.,  to  whom 
1  am  largely  indebted  for  information  respecting  this  and  other 
Connecticut  families,  gives  me  no  particulars  respecting  them. 

16.  Edward  Dimmock,  son  of  Capt.  Thomas,  resided  on  the 
paternal  estate.  He  was  a  lieutenant  in  the  militia  and  his  com- 
mission, jengrossed  on  parchment,  is  preserved  by  his  descendants. 
He  was  captain  of  the  1st  Company,  7th  Mass.  Regiment,  in  the 
expedition  against  LouL-^burg,  liis  commission  bearing  date  Feb. 
15,  1744,  O.  S.     He  married  in  1720  Hannah ,  and  had — 

41.  I.  Anna,  23d  Nov.  1721.  Married  Thomas  Agrey  or 
Egred  March  7,  1749.  He  is  said  to  have  been  the  first  in 
Barnstable  who  made  ship-building  a  business.  Many  who 
afterwards  built  vessels  in  Barnstable  served  their  appren- 


344  GENEALOGICAL    NOTES    OF    BAKN8TABLE    FAMILIES. 

ticeship  with  him.  He  had  a  son  John  born  in  Barnstable 
.Jan.  2,  1752.  He  removed  to  Maine  where  he  has  descend- 
ants. 

42.  II.     Thomas,  baptized  July  25,  1725,  died  young. 

43.  III.     Edward,  baptized  March  17,  1726,  died  young. 

44.  IV.  Thomas,  born  16th  March,  1727,  married  Elizabeth 
Bacon  Oct.  7,  1755,  and  had  Charles  10th  Dec.  1756,  a 
master  ship  carpenter,  the  father  of  the  late  John  L.  Uim- 
moch:  of  Boston,  and  Col.  Charles  Dimmock  of  Richmond, 
Va.,  and  others;  2,  Hannah,  21st  July,  1758.  In  her  old 
age  she  became  the  fourth  wife  of  Capt.  Job  Chase  of  Har- 
wich ;  3,  John,  16th  June,  1764. 

Children  of  Timothy  Dimmock  and  his  wife  Abigail,  born  in 
Mansfield,  Conn. : 

I.  Timothy,  June  2,  1703. 

II.  John,  Jan.  3,  1704-5,  settled  in  Ashford. 

III.  Shubael,  May  27,  1707. 

IV.  Daniel,  Jan.  28,  1709-10. 

V.  Israel,  Dec.  22,  1710. 

VI.  Ebenezer,  Nov.  22,  1715. 

11.  VII.  Benj.  Dimmock,  son  of  JiUsigD  Shubael,  by  his 
wife  Mary,  had  the  following  children  born  in  Mansfield,  Conn.  : 

I.  Perez,  June  14,  1704,  married  Mary  Bayley  Nov.  5,  1725, 
and  had  a  familv. 

II.  Mehitabel,  June  8,  1706,  died  Dec.  1713. 

III.  Peter,  June  5,  1708,  died  Aug.  1714. 

IV.  Mary,  Sept.  14,  1710. 

V.  Joanna,  June  22,  1713. 

VI.  Shubael,  June  22,  1715. 

VII.  Mehitabel,  Aug.  6,  1719. 

12.  VIII.  Joannah  Dimmock,  daughter  of  Ensign  Shubael, 
married,  Oct.  6,  1709,  at  Windham,  Josiah  Conant,  son  of  P^xoise, 
and  grandson  of  Roger,  a  man  of  note  in  early  times.  She  had 
only  one  child,  Shubael,  born  July  15,  1711.  Shubael  Conant 
was  a  very  prominent  man  in  Mansfield.  He  was  a  judge  of  the 
court,  held  various  town,  county,  and  state  offices,  and  was  one  of 
the  Governor's  Council  of  safety  at  the  commencement  of  the 
Revolutionary  War. 

13.  IX.  Thankful  Dimmock,  youngest  daughter  of  Ensign 
Shubael,  married,  June  28,  1706,  Dec.  Edward  Waldo,  of  Wind- 
ham. She  had  ten  children,  and  died  Dec.  13,  1757,  aged  71 
years.  Among  her  living  descendants  are  Rev.  Daniel  Waldo,  a 
grandson,  of  Syracuse,  N.  Y.,  aged  one  hundred  years  Sept.  10, 
1862  ;  and  Judge  Loren  P.  Waldo,  late  Judge  of  the  Superior 
Court  of  Connecticut. 

17.  IV.  Thomas  Dimmock,  son  of  Capt.  Thom